Tom Boy Tara Comics

Nerd Mafia Promo Party

2011-06-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

I know I've been neglecting my duties as a blogger recently, sorry it's been busy as of late, what with working and trying to put out a comic a week as well as going to promo parties. What's a promo party, you ask? Well, only the greatest thing a starving artist/writer like me could ever attend! Put on by the very cool Nerd Mafia, and hosted by the wicked Andrew Uys who is responsible for Uysfaber and his lovely wife Theresa. A few friends of mine in the comic/creative/nerd industry all got together with some really awesome interviewers like radio/pod cast hosts, bloggers and those who do video interviews for their site, as we mingled, had some food and alcohol and enjoyed the lovely June day while listening to the magical music of Nerds With Guitars. It was wonderful. I got to see some old friends like Alice Quinn of Tdotcomics as well as my friend D.K. who's working on Hardware, Sally Christensen and her awesome boyfriend John T. who do so much for Nerd Girl Pinups and have their own little business called Yarn of Despair. I also met some new people while I was there, mainly one of the very knowledgeable and cool hosts of Geek Hard, Andrew Young who did a full interview of me here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ykge4qtnLM as well as Eli Green and Nathan Schwartz from Lazyreviewzzz who did a lovely tribute video to the party here: http://www.viddler.com/explore/lazyreviewzzz/videos/222/2.806 Also the lovely Sally Christensen that I already mentioned above asked me to do my first interview of the day so I was a bit nervous but as the interviews went on I loosened up. She interviewed me and other cool nerds here: http://nerdgirlpinups.com/article/326 check out the videos, I hope you enjoy them, and visit the websites of these wonderfully creative people in Toronto. You may realize you love what they're doing and might even come out to a Nerd Mafia party in the near future!

P.S. Sorry to those I met/greeted at the party I did not mention, there are so many cool people at this party as I'm sure you can see by the videos, I could not meet everyone there and those I did talk to and did not mention, again my apologies. Maybe next blog post! :)

My Top 10 Fave Animated Tomboys

2011-05-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, I think cartoons are the perfect place to showcase strong, sarcastic and even gutsy women. Maybe it’s the fact that this is where most outcasts come to share a common ground but if you’re going to make a cool character, animation is the place to be. In most things, tomboys are considered to be the side-kick characters as they are in a lot of cartoons as well, but there have also been a few that have become the stars of the show either because it’s all about them or just because they stand out on the coolest people ever scale! Perhaps I am biased because I have a comic about a tomboy but I think tomboys are the most fascinating people in human nature. Either way without further ado here are my top ten fave animated tomboys:

Gadget from Rescue Rangers:

This wrench-weilding mouse is not only handy but oh-so-adorable and has even caught the eye of Chip and Dale…whom, let’s face it, aren’t even in her species. I love Gadget’s name and strong nature. Oh and by the way, cool goggles hun, you were Steampunk before it was even invented!

Lydia from Beetlejuice:

Ok some may argue with me on this one and say, she’s not a tomboy, she’s more Goth. I say, who said Goths can’t be tomboys? I think they go nicely together like skulls to Hamlet. I dunno…fact is, she doesn’t quite get along with Pru that prom-queen chick and hangin’ out with ghosts all day don’t make you all that popular with the female living unless you’re into that sorta thing like her. To me she was always very cool and I was drawn to her spunky nature and fascination for all things unusual.

Ashley Spinelli from Recess:

Often referred to by her last name, Spinelli was frequently seen getting dirty, playing sports and punchin’ out anyone who insulted her clique on the playground. I almost forgot about recess until I watched this show back in high school and Spinelli was always my favorite character on the show. I loved how she hated “The Ashleys” (the group of princesses all with the same name who were clone-like in nature and were all rich, pretty and popular…aka: Snots) and defended her friends without even a hesitation. I also thought it was hilarious how she seemed to have no emotions until the episode where we meet her parents and they embarrassingly reveal that she has a crush on T.J. the main character.

Lor from The Weekenders:

Another Disney show (I know, who knew Disney was that into producing so many shows about tomboys, it was a shock to me too, but then again, they did make Mulan) Lor was cute and a bit boy crazy but her gazillion brothers (who would often, for some reason, pile on top of Lor for fun) kept her in line I think. Also she hung out with guys and a very smart chick, these guys were never very popular in their school but they had some fun weekends together, shooting hoops, eating pizza and doing “normal” kids stuff.

Kim Possible from…Kim Possible:

Yup, yet another Disney show I dressed as her for Halloween once. Kim is the butt-kicking spy/superhero you always dreamed you could be…she also tries to keep a head on her shoulder and even tries out for cheerleading which you don’t always see tomboys doing in these cartoons, but hey she’s the leading lady, she hasta be kinda cute. Her best friend is a wise-cracking, nerdy guy who has a naked mole rat as a pet. She tries to be a normal teenager but often fails; I don’t feel that bad for her though, she’s got a sweet high school job.

Buttercup from Powerpuff Girls:

Despite her simplified and cute look this girl is very intimidating. She always looks mad whenever I see her. I’ll admit I didn’t watch this show enough (I didn’t get the channel when it was on) but I find Buttercup was the coolest outta the girls and I know a ton of people who have called her as their favorite. She kicks monkey-butt! And no that’s not an expression she really kicks monkeys in the butt, if you haven’t seen it, look up Mojo Jo-jo he’s my fave villain!

Jessie from Undergrads:

Another costume I did for Halloween, Jessie was awesome. This show was so wicked and I’m sure most would agree. Too bad it only lasted a season, but maybe that’s how it remained so good, it didn’t wear out its welcome…at least I didn’t get sick of it unless I allowed myself to watch it over and over again. Anyways Jessie totally had the hots for Nitz but didn’t bluntly flirt with him about it; at least he didn’t notice ‘cuz he was too busy pining over Kimmy. She was quick-witted and one of the guys. A good combination of sexy and cool, Jessie was a character I have always enjoyed watching.

Nikki from 6-Teen:

Another purple-haired, femme-fetal, Nikki is one of my fave characters in the Canadian born show 6-Teen. Maybe I missed an episode or two but I never quite understood why she worked at that store with so many blond clones. Maybe she enjoyed mocking them or feeling superior to their very ditsy ways but either way it made me laugh. Normally in most situations girls like her would have either been fired or more likely would have quit that job long ago but for some reason she stuck it out. She was smart, mature, gutsy, sarcastic, and had a good head on her shoulders. Out of all the girls I think Nikki was my fave and she made me wanna tune in as often as I could. This show had a lot of fun characters though too, if you haven’t seen it I suggest you check it out.

Joan of Arc from Clone High:

Another Canadian show, yes Joan did seem pretty gothy too, and who knows why she liked Abe, it was such a silly show. I loved how she would punch out JFK if he ever made an offensive comment and kicked Gandhi in the face for the same exact reason. I also loved how she loathed Cleopatra and how they seemed to share a common animosity for one another. The historical stereotypes in one school and how they interacted with each other was pure genius, and the way the characters would point out the random flaws in the writing out of nowhere made it even more hysterical.

Daria and Jane from Daria:

Ok, I know these should be #10 and #11 on the list but these are my #1 fave tomboys…and well since they’re from the same show it was really hard to separate them. I love the characters equally. I feel even though Daria is most likely thought of as a geek and Jane the crazy artist they were both drawn to each other as friends through their common tomboyish personality trait. Daria was created on Beavis and Butthead (which I’ll admit I rarely watched) that they called “Diarrhea” as she sardonically zings them back with her awesome wit. On her show she held her own quite nicely I think. Running 5 seasons long and gaining character development along the way. Jane and Daria seem attached at the hip and despite major curveballs and bumps along the way somehow manage to remain friends through everything they go through, even when Daria steals Jane’s man?! Wow, talk about sharing everything as friends! They both have their differences but a stronger similarity. Both gals agree that they possess a really good friendship. I think it’s great when two tomboys have found each other and can keep each other sane in this crazy mixed up world, especially when that world is full of those that are the complete opposite of them.

Those are my fave animated tomboys, I’m sure I forgot a few along the way, what’s your favorite tomboy of all time?

What 80s and 90s Cartoons Taught Us About Nerdy Girls

2011-04-29T07:32:00.001-07:00

Ok so I was doing a little research for fun. I thought it would be funny to point out some of the stereotypes of the smart female characters of the 80s and 90s...the fact that I actually grew up on these characters makes me sad. Most of the characters have large glasses, are shy, klutzy, desperate for love...and even at one time a man and no one seemed to notice their huge transformation? I know...right? Some of them have their better qualities sometimes I mean they're all quite smart or at least leave something to the imagination with their ensembles. Oh I also noticed that a vast majority of them either wear blue or purple or even have blue hair. Coincidence? Probably not, it's most likely just the characters I chose. Anyways here's a few pix of the characters with little write ups about them*:

Shy Violet from Strawberry Shortcake:

"Shy Violet is a studious little girl with the mind of a genius. She wears great big glasses and looks just as intelligent as she is. Most of the time, Violet can be found reading or writing or working on her theories about color. She is Rainbow Brite's problem-solver and can always be counted upon for quick answers to difficult questions. Though Violet is very shy, she never hesitates to speak up to offer advice. And when she speaks, everybody listens because she's always right! Hers is the color of wisdom and enlightenment, so when she's not busy offering advice, she's managing the work of the violet Sprites, supplying violet colors to our world." ~Quote brought to you by: http://www.rainbowbrite.net/characters/violet.html

Plum Pudding from Rainbow Brite:

This one shocked me a bit too, but I also find it somewhat amusing: "The last of Strawberry Shortcake's original 1980s friends, Plum Puddin' was the bespectacled genius of the group. A surprisingly non-token second male character in Strawberry's early adventures, Plum Puddin' vanished from Strawberryland in 1982, only to return to the series in 1984 as a brainy female. Strawberry Shortcake seemed not to notice. Plum remained Strawberry Shortcake's scientific advisor through the franchise's disbanding in 1985."~Quote courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Strawberry_Shortcake_characters#Plum_Puddin.27

Jeanette from Alvin and the Chipmunks:

Now I dunno about you but I watched a lot of the Chipmunks as a kid, it just always seemed to be on. I noticed later on that Jeanette slightly resembled Irma from Ninja Turtles. Anyway, here's another quote from Wickipedia: "Jeanette Miller is the tallest of the Chipettes. She is the female counterpart of Simon. She is the middle sister of the Chipettes. Jeanette has a high amount of intellect which she is often not afraid to use, and is considered the lovable klutz of the Chipettes. Her klutzy personality is shown in her outfits, and is often seen with her shoelaces untied, a strap on her dress shoulder crooked, etc.. She wears glasses due to extremely poor eyesight. Jeanette has brown hair in a bun, green eyes, and her signature colors are royal blue and purple. In the 2009 film, Jeanette is voiced by Anna Faris.~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chipettes

Irma from Ninja Turtles:

Is it me or is there a striking resemblance between Jeanette? It's uncanny! "Irma Langinstein is the bespectacled, dorky best friend, and colleague of April O'Neil at Channel Six, where she serves as Burne Thompson's secretary in the 1987 series and Archie Comics." ~http://tmnt.wikia.com/wiki/Irma_Langinstein

Janine from The Real Ghostbusters:

"Janine's character was changed at the suggestion of consultants, who said that they wanted to change the shape of Janine's glasses (which they thought would frighten children), and change her from a feisty character to the "mother" of the Ghostbusters group as they felt she was "too abrasive". Additionally, the Brooklyn accent was discarded with a change in voice actresses. This, among other reasons, was why writer J. Michael Straczynski left The Real Ghostbusters." Quote found and additional info about this can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janine_Melnitz

Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury from Sailor Moon:

"A quiet, fourteen-year-old bookworm in Usagi's class. Highly intelligent with a rumored IQ of 300, she can transform into Sailor Mercury, Soldier of Water and Wisdom. Ami's shy exterior masks a passion for knowledge and for taking care of the people around her. She hopes to become a doctor one day, like her mother, and tends to be the practical one in the group. Secretly, she is also a fan of pop culture and romance novels, and becomes embarrassed whenever this is pointed out. Ami would also be considered the "tech girl" of the group, Utilizing her mini data computer, which is capable of scanning and detecting virtually anything she needs." ~More info as well as this can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailor_Moon

So what have we learned here today? I personally have learned that smart girls (at least in cartoon land) are often reserved and shy, with head buried in a book while toting laptops and wearing their hair either really short or in a convenient ponytail.

*Note: Most of these characters are obviously from girly cartoons or shows that drew an equal male/female audience...with possibly the exception of The Real Ghostbusters and Ninja Turtles.

Awards, Interviews, and Ponies?

2011-01-31T07:37:00.001-08:00

Ok, so a few things have happened to me this month that I'd like to share. The list of articles I'm addressing is as follows: 1: I'm up for an award, and if you'd like to vote I'll tell you how.
2:I was interviewed about my career by a 15 year old who had a project, if you'd like to know what I think about being a cartoonist read on, it's long-winded.
3: My friend Kelly Mills made me a wonderful My Little Pony version of Tom Boy Tara!
If you'd like to read all three topics, please feel free, but if you'd like to skip one or two at least you know what I'm going to rant about so you can skim.

The Prix Aurora Award
So I'm pleased to announce that the lovely and always wonderful Liana K. has nominated my comic "Tom Boy Tara" for a Prix Aurora Award. I'm in the "Best Graphic Novel" section. Apparently webcomics are able to be nominated for it. My comics 129-165 from 2010 are in the running which involves *SPOILER ALERT* the huge story arc of my one character Jade coming out as a bisexual and Tara questioning her own sexuality. If you haven't read it, lots of stuff happens after that too...it's a crazy read.

Liana and the fine people at Futurecon (a fabulous 3 day New Years Relaxacon that she and a few others made up and then donated all of the money gained from it to epilepsy Toronto) were also nominated for a Prix Aurora Award. Please vote for them if you can!

The Prix Aurora Awards are Canada's national popular vote Sci Fi & Fiction awards, meaning the public gets to vote on the best of the best in Canadian SF!

The nomination period is open, and it is free to nominate. However, since the awards are a one person/one vote system, you must register with the society and get your society number before proceeding to the nominations.

Nominations are live now, and close April 30th, 2011. Please help us get those who supported the Futurecon convention on the ballot! They donated a lot of time and work to help raise epilepsy funds.

Come voting time, there is a nominal $5 fee per ballot. This money goes directly to paying for the swanky trophies they give out, and other expenses related to the awards. You can donate more if you wish.

The nomination form can be found here:

http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/Membership/nomination.php

The Prix Aurora Awards prefers that you complete all categories when you nominate. So to help you with that, here is our preliminary "Friends of Futurecon" list of recommendations. Let's get all our Futurecon guests nominated, so we party at SFContario, November 18-20th, 2010 in Toronto:

PROFESSIONAL NOMINATIONS:

Best Novel - English:
Robert J. Sawyer: Watch (Penguin Canada)
Derwin Mak: The Shrine of the Siren Stone (Orchard House Press)

Best Short Fiction - English:
"Cloned to Kill", Derwin Mak, Infinite Space, Infinite God II, Twilight Times Books
"The Polar Bear Carries the Mail", Derwin Mak, The Dragon and the Stars, DAW Books
"Family Tradition", Derwin Mak, Night to Dawn, issue 17, April 2010

(Note: All these short stories can be read online here: http://www.derwinmaksf.com/Auroras.html )

Best Poetry/Song - English
Robert J. Sawyer: "The Transformed Man," Tesseracts 14 (EDGE)

Best Graphic Novel - English
Tomboy Tara, strips 129 - 165, Emily Ragozzino, Tomboytara.com, self-published.

Best Related Work - English
The Dragon and the Stars; Derwin Mak and Eric Choi, Editors, DAW Books

Best Artist:
Leonard Kirk, Examples: Dark X-Men: Issues 3, 4 and 5 - Penciling and Inking, Marvel Comics
New Mutants (vol.3): Issues 15 - 19 - Penciling and inking, Marvel Comics

FAN-BASED NOMINATIONS

Best Fan Publication:
The Dominion Dispatch, Adam Smith, Editor, http://www.steampunkcanada.ca/dominiondispatch.htm

Best Fan Organizational
Liana Kerzner, FUTURECON!!!!!!!!!! (This was a team effort but the Auroras make you list a single name. This was the one RJS provided, so let's keep it consistent!)

Best Fan Filk:
Nero's Fiddle, Red is the Rose Album

Best Fan Other:
Andrew Gurudata, The Constellation Awards, Polaris 24
Nero's Fiddle, Live performance, Futurecon, December 31st, 2010 (In case the Aurora committee doesn't see the gals as "filky" enough. The official definition is muddy.)

An Interview About Being in the Cartoon Industry
Interview for Comic Book Artist and Author Emily Ragozzino

Q: How did you first decide to become a comic book artist?

A: When I was eight years old, I used to do my own comics based off of cartoons I watched on T.V. and newspaper comics I read. I didn’t have a comic book store near me, as I grew up in the country so I didn’t really base them off of comic books, but I always found all sequential art and animation to be extremely fascinating and an amazing storytelling method.

Q: Is there anything you think is important to do during your formative years if you want to become a comic book artist?

A: Well for one thing, I think it’s best to learn a thing or two about writing and art, especially if you want to do both. I’m mostly self-taught but I took Fine Art in college and all through high school, I also loved English. I think it helps to know how to craft your own stories and create some kind of movement with your art to make the story interesting. Creating a story that includes body language often helps make the art look more appealing, however if the story calls for it, small gestures can make the art look more organic, more boring perhaps but also more realistic if that’s what you’re going for.

Q: Do you think it was luck or your own choices, or a combination of both, that got you where you are today?

A: Well, I’ve always worked hard to achieve any goals. Sometimes coincidences happen where I met a cool person at the right time that would help me to further my career, but most of the time if was motivation and sticking with what I loved and never giving up hope that got me to where I am.

Q: How often do you work as a comic book artist?

A: I try to post a comic a week if I can. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but I try to stick with that goal. I think having goals and giving yourself a deadline really helps a lot. I try to work on a comic for about 3 hours more or less. I just began colouring it in. Because I change my style frequently and experiment a lot it can take more or less time, but I mainly have fun with it and the time flies by. It’s what I love to do, so it’s hard not to have fun.

Q: What are your favorite parts about this job?

A: Just being able to create something new and different really makes me content. I’ve always loved art and writing, so I think the fact that I’ve found something to combine both of my loves has really helped me to progress.

Q: What are your least favorite parts about this job?

A: Trying to find the time to do it among my day job and other daily tasks and challenges and at the moment I’m not making a ton of money off of it. It’s the price I pay for being an artist and enjoying what I do.

Q: Are their any particular skills and interests that are required for the job?

A: I think most people can do this type of work if they really have the passion for it, dedication and the talent. Talent comes last because I’ve seen some comics with good writing and bad art or vice versa and they still make it alright. I think if you have a new and different idea that will relate to people, that often helps. Creativity is a big requirement. I say passion and dedication because I’ve seen enough artists give up because they don’t think there’s enough money in it or they’re too shy to show their own work. If you like what you do you’ll want to show it to the world and keep going with it. If you put your mind to it, I really believe you can accomplish anything.

Q: Which of the following types of abilities are useful within your job?
(Copy from the following list)
Kinesthetic
Linguistic
Logical
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Musical
Visual/Spatial
Natural

A: Definitely Linguistic, I think without language in the comic realm (body language or speech) it would just be a bunch of random pictures. There must be a concept or some kind of story to suck the reader in. Visual is definitely another strong ability needed, or else it would just be a regular short story, conversation, narrative, etc. Art is what makes comics such a fascinating medium; it can convey a mood or set a scene. I believe you can use most of the other abilities in the above list to write about something, the ideas for comics are endless. I for one will use music in my writing to display the characters likes and dislikes or again, set a mood.

Q: Within the job, what sort of thinking is important?
(Copy from the following list)
Respectful
Disciplined
Creative
Synthesizing
Ethical

A: I think “Creative” and “Discipline” are the top ones on the list. You obviously need to have creativity to even craft your own comic, and discipline to keep going with it, especially if it has a storyline that lasts a while like mine does.

Q: Is there a particular personality that best suits the job?

A: Well, like in any career, an ambitious personality will allow you to take the career far. Especially because you will most likely not receive overnight success, it takes a lot of hard work, dedication and a lot of money into it (that you may not easily get back) you have to enjoy what you do and I think creative methods in marketing yourself can really help get things out there a little bit. Most artists forget that if they begin this career, you must market your product and unless you have a partner you must do it on your own or with the help of friends and possibly family. If you have a business mind and a fabulous support system, it sometimes helps to get your idea out there. Creativity also helps obviously, but being logical about your goals in your freelance career also helps a lot, you’re your own boss, you call the shots, they may as well be smart decisions.

Q: Are there any good things that people can do to volunteer that prepare them for your job?

A: Well, I think if you have the time to dedicate to your future goal while you’re young, it can help. If my college had a newspaper that was published often, I would have definitely volunteered to do the comic in that newspaper. I have in the past made comics for things. I used to practice making birthday cards for people and coming up with funny little slogans and caricatures, just writing and doing random sketches can often help. Carrying a small notebook with you at all times too can help you get ideas down that you later forget about. I just practiced art a lot, and wrote whenever I could to keep things fresh. I think that’s all you can really do to prepare yourself.

Q: Are there any other interests that your job makes it easy to pursue? Are there ones that you feel are difficult to pursue?

A: Caricatures and face painting have been things I have done on the side. I can easily do storyboards for film because I know how to do sequential art. I can easily also write scripts for film as well, as I normally write out scripts before I draw out the panels.
I feel it is a very limited career, but you can also do a lot with art and writing. I have published books because of it, I have created t-shirts and other products with my art, there are endless possibilities. My core interests are art and writing, I find that this career path helps me fulfill all of my needs.

Q: Does your job often interfere with your personal life, and vice versa?

A: It can sometimes. I have been distracted at past side jobs because I was so focused on what I wanted to do next in my comic. I have even been fired over it. Although that job was not for me and the employer knew it, it was just at a bad time in my life that I lost that job. I have had friends and family think I was delusional for wanting to do this as a career as it makes very little money, especially at the start. I have ignored a lot of people because I have followed what most consider “just a dream”.

Q: Is it possible to create a healthy work/life balance, without cutting too much of either?

A: I have created one. I now work full time at an art store for spare money so I can eat, pay bills and generally have a roof over my head. It also helps me save money on supplies if I need them. I find doing a comic a week at least until I make some money off of my comic gives my viewers just enough to constantly go back to check in with it, and it allows me to pursue what I love while still giving me time to work and have a social life, and do all the things I need to do.

Q: Is there anything else you’d include that’s important information about your job?

A: It can be a difficult career. It may sound glamorous at times, but believe me, it takes a lot of discipline, and dedication and laborious life balance to allow you to survive in this incredibly sought after career. Let’s face it, a lot of people want to be their own boss and work mainly from home while making massive amounts of money doing it. If that’s why you got into this career in the first place though, you may want to rethink your life choices. It’ll take years to get there, I haven’t even received that luxury yet, and don’t know if I ever will. That’s the price I pay for doing what I love though.

Kelly Mills Makes My Little Ponies Even More Awesome!
So I just got the best present of the year, and I was so excited to share it with everyone! My friend Kelly Mills makes customized My Little Ponies. She came to visit me one time recently on her way to see the play "Wicked" with her boyfriend and told me she was going to make me a Tom Boy Tara pony. I didn't think she'd be making it so soon. I can't stop staring at the pictures she had of them below, I was just in awe of all the detail she put into it. She took my childhood girly toy and made it something tomboyish! Such an amazing thing! Well I luckily snagged the pictures of the making of the pony and the finished result is there too. If you want to see Kelly's other ponies she's customized she does such an amazing job, they're here, just click on this link: Midnightflurry
Please hire her if you know someone (or yourself) who would like a My Little Pony customized. She does an incredible amount of work, as you can see!

The Future Is Here!

2010-12-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

So it has been a while since I last posted in here. Since my random cartoon teaching gigs I've had two friends ask me to teach "the making of comics" to more students. My one friend who is part of the Literature Committee at her high school was going to see if I could speak for an hour about comics as a piece of literature. I've also been asked to teach a few girls from an all girl high school how to draw comics. Both gigs will be in April of next year, but they want to book me in advance before commencing the next semester. I'm pretty excited that I was asked to do these things, even if it doesn't pan out, it's the thought to ask me that counts. Very exciting!

So I had just completed some works for an upcoming event called Futurecon! Futurecon is a cool 3 day party right on New Years put on by constant con goers who wanted to make their own convention. It's based on a sci-fi movement that doesn't seem to be primarily focused on for most conventions (normally when you think of sci-fi you think of aliens) which is Time Travel. It's one of my favorite kinds of Sci-fi being a fan of such movies as "Back to the Future" and "Time Bandits". I was asked to participate in drawing for the very cool event. I made caricatures of Liana K and Ed the Sock (who will be running the event) dressed in gear from different time periods and also as Marty McFly and Doc Brown from "Back to the Future".

These caricatures have been put on a cover for the event's free keepsake program book that doubles as a photo album. Also my line drawing of Ed and Red as Marty and Doc has been put on the official t-shirt for the convention. Sales from the t-shirts will go to help banish epilepsy as well as the money from most of the con. I'm really proud to be a part of this history-in-the-making event. It will be the New Years party of a lifetime! If you would like to go to it, please feel free to register for it on the website here.

That's all for now, I hope everyone's holidays go smoothly and hopefully next year will be just as wonderful, if not more wonderful than this one. For me, it'll have to be pretty darn wonderful, I had a blast this year!

I'M IN THE NEWS!

2010-11-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

Even though it's small town news it still counts. I grew up in the country, this is awesome to me! So, this is one of the creative things I was doing a few months ago that I said I'd get back to you about later. The very awesome Liana K from "Ed the Sock" and "This Movie Sucks" asked me to join her in participating in a very cool program at a public school that connects children to their young parents. I was thrilled to be asked and therefore taught a whole bunch of kids about grade 1-3 and their parents how to create their own cartoon character and then their own comic strip. What the article doesn't mention here (because the photographer/writer of the article left before this)is that the school asked us to stay and do another more advanced presentation for about 60 kids from grade 4-6. We had all of their attention and it was so super fun! I made an interesting suggestion that you can turn any shape into a head or body if you just use your imagination. We had kids asking to come up to draw a shape in front of everyone so we could turn it into something cool! Liana who is a huge fan of comics and claimed she wasn't an artist at all was drawing more than I was up there. Everyone wanted to participate! Needless to say, it was a very fun day! Thanks to Adam Hodgins who arranged the whole thing and the awesome school of Brechin for having such a wonderful program. I wish I had something like that when I was their age.

Interview

2010-10-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I wrote a blog post...lots of artistic things are going on, but stuff I can't really discuss too much now. Instead I wrote a little interview out about my life and my art/writing career. Enjoy!:

• What is your birthdate?:
March 5th, 1982, yes I’m getting up there in age, I don’t care, grow old gracefully.
• Previous occupations:
For art: graphic designer, caricaturist, art director, storyboard artist, face painter, cartoonist, fashion designer, etc…I’ve also done a lot of random retail jobs to keep this art career afloat.
• Favorite job:
I’ve had a few, but I’ve always enjoyed making my own comics.
• High school and/or college:
Went to school in Banting Memorial High School then went to Georgian College for Fine Arts for 3 years and eventually moved to Toronto.
• Name of your favorite composer or music artist:
I love the band “Cake” ‘cuz they experiment with all kinds of instruments in their band. I enjoy artists who experiment. I’m also into MGMT.
• Favorite movie:
It depends, I have a few favorites…but it changes with my mood…Maybe The Fantastic Mr. Fox most recently.
• Favorite television show:
Freaks and Geeks.
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Life is hard, but when drawing, it’s fun.
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. If I have time to watch a movie I have time to draw a comic.
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. Getting to wake up everyday and make a living doing what you love.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Knives.
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. I’ve always wanted to go to England to see the history there.
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. Jim Henson, I love creating new characters, imagine and inspire imagination in others like he did.
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. My boyfriend, he is the most amazing boy I’ve ever met, he is so calm and together, successful in his career, and he knows when to be mature and when to have fun.
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. “That’s insane!” I’ve been told I say that a lot when talking to people…some people tell insane stories though, in my defense.
Q. What do you regret most?
A. Not taking a photography job that was offered to me when I was in high school ‘cuz I was lazy then. Woulda been great on a resume.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. I want to learn the drums. Never became musically inclined but I woulda loved to learn something cool.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. I think publishing my very own comic books and my own web comic.
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. I’m too self conscious and I sometimes blame that on the fact that I’m a girl.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. I have a good imagination which helps me to tell stories and create.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. I would love to be some kind of mythical creature. I love mythology, Unicorns, Pegasus, anything horse-like were such powerful animals that inspired imagination
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. I think the fact that I’m tall…when people would describe me to someone they often referred to me as “the tall girl”. I change my look too frequently to pin-point a single trait.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. Daria
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. The plant in Little Shop of Horrors.
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. If I could go back in time I would tell all of King Henry the Eighth’s wives to watch out and never marry him ‘cuz they’re going to die a horrible, horrible death.
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. When people ignore their inner nerd and mask it with a phony version of them selves.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing or drawing?
A. Creating new products for people to use or wear.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. To be a shape-shifter…then I could do almost any profession…even if it is just temporarily.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Having an imagination, a sense of humor, and being open-minded
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Rice Krispies…I could make so many things with that.

On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. C.S. Lewis, J.D. Salinger, Daniel Clowes, Mike Carey, Craig Thompson, and Graeme Roland Base.
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, Catcher in the Rye, Ghost World, The Unwritten, Blankets, and I know you just said 5, but it’s a short children’s book and so awesome anyways in art and in writing, The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery.
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. I just read Blankets but would love to reread it. I’ve reread The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe several times as a kid and have reread Catcher in the Rye.
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Keep trying, you will have a magnum opus someday, if you get rejected, don’t let that stop you, Stephen King kept every rejection letter he ever received when he first began, that’s words of encouragement enough I’d say.
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. That Tom Boy Tara is awesome and I’m not allowed to stop making it…their words, not mine.

Marketing Strategies For The New Comic Artist

2010-09-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

People often come up and ask me at conventions, “How do you get your web comic out there?” To be fair I’m not famous…yet, but I have become a little more known with a few marketing strategies I’ve discovered through trial and error. I took Fine Arts Advanced in college and they teach you a little bit about how to market yourself as an artist, which has been helpful, no doubt, but once I got into the real world and realized the competition and how fierce it is I soon had to rely on my creative skills to stand out above the rest. Plus I find a lot of these strategies work well online, which is what you want when you’re a web comic creator.

Business Cards: One of my favorite old fashioned strategies has always been the business card. I’ve tried many printing places and they were all well and good, but at one particular convention I saw one man’s cards that stood out above the rest. He had these tiny cards, about half the size of a regular one, and he had many different images on them. I thought they were adorable and showing off numerous images as if to have a mini portfolio seemed like such a wonderful idea. I quickly asked him where he got them printed. He said, “Online at moo.com.” He then proceeded to tell me how cheap they were to make. I joked with him about possibly working for them and he assured me he wasn’t. I took a card and remembered the easy-to-remember web address when I got home and looked it up. Such a fun site it was too! I made some cards with their wonderful “printfinity” function to showcase a few of my different styles I use. I’ve gone to them several times for mini cards too, because I find they actually arrive quickly and in a cute, little protective box. Whenever I hand them out at conventions I suggest to people to use them as bookmarks for their graphic novels they’ve just purchased. They’re such handy little things. Plus not only can you make business cards but you can make postcards, stickers, greeting cards, etc. Another great thing about moo is if you join their newsletter they will keep you updated on cool events, contests and the best is their marketing strategies. They sure know how to market (it is their job after all) and man, I’ve learned a lot just from reading their newsletter updates!

Edible Business Cards: I find people really seem to like free food at cons, not all mind you, but most. Plus, if the con was anything like last Fan Expo where it was impossible to get food because of the long lineups people will be thankful for it. I had an epiphany one day about the best food that would get messages across to people and I thought, ‘Of course! Fortune cookies!’ I swiftly began searching for sites that provided great deals with Fortune cookies and one place has served me well. Goodfortunecookies.com had the best and coolest deal! The site may look a little sketchy, as well as the box the cookies come in, but believe you me, they make them fresh and delicious, and they’ll get them to you on time! I’m not one to procrastinate so I like to order them way before I need them, and they don’t go stale for about 3 months or so. You can set the date for when you want them delivered by, and you’ll bet they get it to you. Best part, you can write your own fortunes! I like to get huge amounts of them for a fairly good price and I write 17 different fortunes (all having to do with situations that happen in my comic on them) then I put my website underneath the fortune and tell people to go check out my comic from there. Another cute option they have (perfect for the artist with the cool style) is you can put a logo on there for free with a big order. They have different deals going on but I know they can do it, just make sure there’s no writing on the logo because it’s so small few people can read it. Leave the written anything to the fortunes themselves. Now, this business card method doesn’t always work mind you, some people are superstitious when it comes to Fortune Cookies, or have food allergies, that’s where backup cards come in to play, and you can rely on your moo cards in that case.

Be A Walking Billboard: Okay, so I have come up with so many kinds of clothes to wear in the past it’s ridiculous! The old fashioned t-shirt logos work wonderfully, don’t get me wrong, but I also find other types of clothes, the ones that you can’t find at a normal convention also make you stand out. Remember: If you’re doing a different comic, one that has barely been established it’s best to do something different so people will take notice. Sometimes causing a scene works but people see through it and it seems hokey. I like checking out different product ideas I could do that will also showcase my stuff long after the convention is over, so if people want to purchase something online, they have the option to. I once wore a tie with my logo on it and people seemed to love it! You can always shop around to see what sites work best for you, but for now I’m using zazzle.com to make numerous projects, including skateboards, doggy shirts, hats, purses, ties, shoes, stickers, magnets, posters, and so much more! You can do so many cool ideas with it! You can customize your store too if you’d like, just play around with it. Fun to make new and unique products! You can also make shirts on Zazzle, but I like to go to a Canadian site called tshirtmonster.ca where you can change the colour, style, brand, size, gender and if it’s an adult, child or baby shirt to suit your needs. You can also opt for an environmentally friendly organic blend shirt for those who like that sort of thing. The quality of shirts is excellent. I like to wear the shirt randomly out, or to comic related events. If I do a bulk order of shirts I ask friends if they want to wear them at the table with me so not only is the order cheaper and you know they’ll be bought, but your friends can advertise the different styles that suit them made specifically from the site. I also have a few shirts at the table for people to pick up in case they want something now. Getting a size people will want is tough though, but through trial and error I find the bigger the shirts the better, not everyone can fit into a small and some people would rather wear a big shirt than a tight one, you can wear it as a shirt to bum around in at home. Another new product I wanted to do because my site is a bit edgy was make temp tattoos. They’re fun at conventions. They’re a little different than some products too so they stand out and if you go to straytats.com you can make any image into a tattoo and you can re-size it to suit your budget so you can either make one big one for you or a bunch for conventions! I made a bunch of Jack the ferret from my comic; I think he worked out well. Also, there are a lot of people who are crafty and make one-of-a-kind customized products. My friend Valerie Scovill just created some beautiful jewelry for my comic and if they don’t do well at this next convention I go to I’m thinking of putting them for sale on Etsy.com which is fabulous for any kind of unique, handmade trinkets. Also, my moo business cards ended up being wonderful for making jewelery! Valerie realized the cardboard they used to make the business cards were perfect for being suspended in resin. The cards were the perfect thickness and lightweight enough to not be too bulky. The cards at the bottom were used to make pins to put on your clothes!

Social Events: If you have the money for it, go to conventions, trade shows, and any related event that has to do with your audience. If you can afford a table by yourself or can share some with friends please do. If not, fliers or business cards at these events are also a good idea for getting it out there. Unfortunately you can’t be shy here, this is where you must hone in on your social skills or at least appoint a friend who has no fear going up to people who supports your business choice. If you don’t approach people and let them know what you’re doing, word of mouth can’t develop and your creation won’t get out there. Go to as many art shows as possible too. There are lots of free events in the summer time especially that may have people that are interested in the same things as you. Research online. You can also make your own event, with the power of Facebook invite friends to a gathering you made up. Hold it at your house or a public place like a pub, restaurant where you can talk with people. Maybe see if there are any art shows involving comics or even approach restaurants that look like they're artist friendly to see if they'll hand out fliers for you or showcase some of your art to possibly even sell. If you have a book you've published go ask your local comic book store if they accept books from Indy comic artists. See how they do business if they buy your stuff outright or do commissions, a lot of stores do things differently. So if your comic features music in it ask a local music store if they can take some of your books to sell. Try to find local Indy 'zine creators to see if they'd like to showcase your art or comic in their magazine. It helps get your name out and you're checking out the cool community and what they're doing too. People may even give you some of their business advice while you're at it.

Online Marketing: Well if you’re just starting out with a new comic it is hard to get it out there. What I like to do (especially if you’re promoting a web comic) is check out different online forums, maybe ones that are specifically art, comic related or would appeal to your audience, for example, (again I'm using music as an example)if your comic is about music, try to check out some music forums as well. I’ve tried forums like CBR.com the comic book website in the Indy comic section and also craigslist.com to show off what I’ve done. They’re free for the stereotypical starving artist and it’s online so it’ll be easy to access. You’re zeroing in on your target audience too so you’re bound to get some interesting feedback. If not, just remember not everyone will like your comic, especially at the beginning stages, so don’t be so sensitive to harsh criticism, some people don’t know what they’re talking about and just want to insult or some people just want to help so you can heed some of the advice if it seems necessary but remember this will happen a lot if you’re getting your art out there so it’s good to develop a thick skin now, which is something some artists have trouble with I’ve noticed. If you have passion and drive for what you do and feel you have a lot to say I think you should keep going with it. If it’s something you want to make money off of, don’t expect anything right away. I find the people who do it for fun because they enjoy it and they don’t care about the money portion of it have the right idea. Also ask the web comic creators that inspire you if they can help you advertise your stuff on their site. Sometimes they're nice and have been in the same boat as you so they may help you out, if not you tried and if they have forums on their site post on there for others to find or even create some advertising by making banner ads to post on your site or others. Also you can try to get other people to advertise on your site, and join affiliate programs. It may help you earn a little extra income to maintain your site. Adding a button from paypal to your website in case someone wants to donate to you for all your hard work doesn't hurt either.

Other Marketing Techniques: If you do happen to get a table at a convention or trade show I’ve seen different strategies, some work, some don’t. I haven’t tried this yet but I want to either get a large cardboard cut-out of one of my characters or buy a cheap mannequin (maybe at a flea market) I can dress up to look like my character and put a wig on, paint her face and maybe add some of the merch I’m selling, like buttons, jewelry, t-shirts whatever to give an interesting display. So many people have cool ideas at these things. I have also cosplayed as my character before, or if you have friends that like to cosplay maybe you can ask them to dress up as a character from your comic for you. I once did a photo shoot with a bunch of friends of mine so I had a photo album to show at these conventions and during the shoot people were wondering what we were doing so we did a little promoting then. You can do it any time during the year; you just need a little creativity with your promotional methods. Of course Facebook, twitter, blogs and a whole plethora of social network sites are right at your fingertips too so take advantage of the free advertising methods and if you have the time try to look into new ones and see what's gaining the most audiences.

There are lots of different methods that work for different people; again it’s all trial and error as you go. If you don’t mind doing a little shameless self promotion and if you also have friends who support what you do they can help you and you have some of the ingredients to be successful. These are just some tips I have used that have helped and stuff I’ve noticed other people have used. It sounds like a lot of work and some of the tips may cost money if you really want to get into it, but if you display stuff online and keep it simple by directing people to your website where all this stuff is, they’re bound to stumble across it and enjoy it. Most of these ideas are either free strategies or fairly cost effective so have fun marketing!

A Blog About a Blog

2010-09-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

So I already enjoyed the idea of the wonderful blog T-Dot Comics before because it's all about the rich comic industry in Toronto and we have a lot of cool and interesting comics here. Let's face it, people come from all over the world just to enroll in Sheridan College which has proved to be a tremendous school for animation and sometimes those honor students get picked to work for Disney...or at least they used to. Not only that but we have countless new schools popping up randomly to teach people how to draw cartoons properly, what with Max the Mutts Animation School as well as Ty Templeton's Comic Book Boot Camp! So not only is the idea behind T-Dot comics a fabulous one but I like it even more now that there has been a video interview of myself posted on there (call me self indulgent, call me what you will, I still think it's pretty cool) along with a number of very cool artists like my friend James Turner who has a link to the side of this blog if you notice. If you'd like to visit the blog please feel free to go there at: http://tdotcomics.ning.com/ but if for some reason that doesn't work you can always check out the side of this blog and click there under the video posted or you will notice a link has also been established for the blog itself.

On a sad note, today is the unfortunate anniversary of my mother's passing. Four years ago today she had ended her 5 year struggle with cancer. Before she got to the point of not speaking because she was on so much pain killer medicine she told all three of her children that she wanted us to do everything that we wanted to do with our lives. That was one of her last spoken wishes. She was a very unselfish woman, one who always encouraged artistic endeavors and creation in any way. She was an amazing artist, as well as a great fashion designer and I always admired how she was always positive no matter what happened during her life. She was my inspiration and the inspiration of all of her children, as my older brother pursued his dream of working in the film industry and my younger brother still plugs away recording for his musically talented friends. She will always be in my heart and I think it is one of the reasons I keep on going with this comic as much as I do, I not only want to fulfill my dream but I want to make my mom proud as well. I'm happy with all that I have accomplished, and must say I never thought I'd get to where I am today if it wasn't for her. Miss you mom!

Fan Expo

2010-09-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Well I attended Fan Expo at long last. Shared a table with the wonderful troop at Nerdgasm Comedy! Joined the Nerd Girl Pinups on occasion too so it was a tremendously busy convention to say the least. Especially since no one seemed to know that there were 3 levels to the con unless they went downstairs to attend a panel. I was located on the 100th floor and it seemed to be the worst location for activity. Which was odd because on Saturday the convention was at maximum capacity so you'd think we'd be working our butts off, but no sir, it was dead then busy, then dead then busy, etc throughout the day. People were so annoyed with the con, in fact, that the attendance for Sunday (at least where I was) was minimal and I refused to travel far from my table assuming a security guard would not let me back to my merch. It's rough advertising for a comic by yourself that few people have heard of, that's why I stayed put unless nature called. I was lucky that the cool people at my table provided me with beverages and food (something I forgot to bring along)so I traded them my fortune cookies I made (or my edible business cards) to thank them for their generosity. The whole con was frustrating and also fun but tiring as well. Lots going on before the con and after the con. I went to the first Annual Questy Awards on Friday night and was going to go to a Nerd Girl Pinups party but became suddenly drained of energy when I was done the con on Saturday, Sunday night I got up enough energy to attend a DVD taping at Nerdgasm comedy. It was a lot of fun! Sunday I also had a video interview with the cool/lovely Alice Quinn of T-dot Comics which is a blog for all your Toronto Comic needs! My video interview shall be posted in a few weeks, will let you know when it is. In the meantime check out their site: http://tdotcomics.ning.com/

There is tons to talk about on this blog and lots of pictures to post, however, I don't have all that much time to do that at the moment. Maybe another day I will post them, until then, keep reading Tom Boy Tara, the recent comic brings up the good question, "What's going on with Tobey right now?" So if you missed Tobey you should check out my latest comic.

TBT Jewelry Has Arrived!

2010-08-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

As stated in a previous post I have commissioned a wonderfully talented jewelry artist to create a line of Tom Boy Tara jewelry pieces for the Fan Expo and to hopefully also be sold at the upcoming Canzine Festival. If you like any of these pieces and perhaps want them done differently or something we can make commissioned pieces for you. Here are some pictures of the pieces that were actually crafted for the shows already and there might even be more to come if they do well!
The first picture is of all of the jewelry in a group that Valerie S. has made for me.

The second picture is a closeup shot of the earrings she made. Now you can have your very own Tara gold earring. You can buy either one, the way she wears it or both as a pair.

The third picture is of all the pins you can put on your shirt, bag, suspenders, coat, whatever you want it on and you'll look delightfully 80's as well as unique, as every one is different!

The fourth and fifth pictures are of the necklaces that you can have. Either on a classic chain, or on a circular wire cord for a modern and edgy look,
they're definitely a cool conversation piece.

Every piece is hand made with resin so your piece is sealed from any kind of water damage so the images will last for a long time. All very durable and awesomely edgy, it'll be hard to pick a piece you really want. If you want to know the prices of any of them let me know and I'll try to give you an estimate, whether it's one of the pieces here or one you want to make as a commission.

Gender Bias Still Slightly Lingering

2010-08-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

Not to sound like a feminist type here, but sometimes, even still in this day in age, it is very difficult being a woman in any industry. Especially in a creative one. It's fascinating how few people take you seriously if you are sweet to them (of course that goes for men and women, few people respect a nice person. It's a shame, but a painful truth) and you must be forceful and honest to get what you want. I'm not saying you have to be down-right mean to get something, but you have to stand your ground to be looked up to in any way. Tricia Regan is an up and coming film-maker and was interviewed on a cool website called "Create Your Own Flag" which is a fascinating look at people in small businesses making their way to the top, as opposed to interviewing people who have already made it. This is Tricia's interesting perspective on the gender bias in the film industry:

http://www.captureyourflag.com/interview-library/how-to-overcome-gender-bias-in-the-film-industry-tricia-rega.html

Quizzes and Surveys!

2010-08-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Just a quick favor to ask of you! I have made a quiz of Which TBT Character Are You? for fun and also a little quick survey to see the main stats on who I'm marketing the comic to for a media kit I'm trying to do. If you're bored or wouldn't mind filling out a quiz or quick survey for fun that would be super rad of you!

Quiz: http://www.gotoquiz.com/which_tom_boy_tara_character_are_you

Survey: http://www.kwiksurveys.com?s=KBJKFI_d72b9bea

Thanks again dudes and dudettes! You've been most wicked!

Pinups and Comic Panels With Special Msgs Coloured

2010-08-17T22:13:00.001-07:00

So I have some new sexy pinups as well as some random panels I coloured in from my newest TBT comics. This pinup I did of Tara is pretty random I know, especially seeing as Tara isn't supposed to be seen as eye-candy in the comic, but she's human, and under all our clothes we are all vulnerable, so I guess I was just showing Tara in a moment of being, on her own, when no one is supposed to be watching. She's still friggin' cool under all of her clothes.

The next few comic panels raise some interesting points. Why are women so mean to each other? Even the ones that don't seem like they should be are. I find it fascinating how most men are pretty chill with other guys, unless threatened (like a girlfriend has been hit on or something to that effect) but most women, for some reason have to prove themselves to a new group. If the girl passes, most of the time she's in for life. Girls can be very possessive and will treat their friends like a precious treasure. I don't know if it's some kind of bitterness they have deep down, or if it's some kind of jealousy thing but women can be so malicious! I think it all boils down to being self conscious. All women, no matter how beautiful, inside and out have at least a hint of insecurities. Let's face it, all women are beautiful in their own way, and a lot of women see others as a threat, until they get to know a girl and realize she's harmless. Sometimes though, even after the judging phase seems to be over, they still have a deep down resentment towards that one chick who just rubs them the wrong way for some reason. I must sound bias though, it really depends on the girl's character to be perfectly honest. Hence why I state "most girls" throughout this blog post. I've just seen this behavior so many times my head hurts. Oh well, thus is life I guess. One girl can't change the way society functions as a whole. So anyways, hope you like the panels I've coloured in for your viewing pleasure! Anyways, enjoy the new comics I've made!

Events and Products

2010-08-13T09:16:00.001-07:00

So I'm actively getting ready for upcoming conventions. Not only have I done the regular (business cards, prints, buttons, stickers, t-shirts, etc.) stuff you normally find at conventions but I also have a grand collection of: TBT jewelery, tattoos and edible business cards (fortune cookies I made up myself having to do with situations in my comic). I have never taken Conventions lightly.

The most recent pieces I have been working on are stickers (you will see those at the conventions I plan on attending) and my wonderful "You Dunno Jack Tattoos" that I got specially made just for the convention from a wonderful site called Stray Tats found at: http://www.straytats.com/

A pic of me wearing the delightful new tattoo is featured here:

This could be you sporting an awesome, cartoon ferret, side-kick tattoo on your magnificent pipes!

I also tracked down a wonderful creator of comic jewelery, the lovely Valerie S. has agreed to make me an arrangement of comic necklaces for the convention to distribute! Originally I contacted her because I purchased a wonderful Betty necklace from the Archie Comics (She's my fave character) and asked her to do a commission piece of Jughead for my friend Amy who is a huge Archie Comics fan and she loves Jughead to death! She has agreed to make me a bunch of jewelery of some of my images, necklaces, earrings and buttons will be available for purchase. Here is the commission Jughead necklace she crafted for me for my friend:

Just to keep people in the loop, I may or may not have a table at the upcoming Fan Expo, but that certainly isn't going to stop me from attending the show. I will most definitely be distributing my fortune cookies and may bring a few small items with me for purchase if you feel so inclined to buy some. Also I have purchased a table at the Canzine art show put on by Broken Pencil magazine for Indy Art. Details for the show can be found here at: http://www.brokenpencil.com/canzine/ If I don't end up selling much this year I definitely will at this event. It's cheap to get in too, only $5 at the door and it includes a magazine as well. Well that's my new update on what's going on here. Hope to see some friendly faces at these wonderful events and hope you like what I've got!

Youthful Behaviour

2010-08-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

I truly believe in order to appear youthful, you have to think youthful. It is an art, like eating cereal for all three meals of the day, going to bed early and watching cartoons on Saturday morning. Adults can still be kids, as long as the bills are paid, and food is on the table and some responsibility is met. There is nothing wrong with taking an adventure to an amusement park or a zoo without having to have kids in tow. If there are some kids that would like to tag along, by all means, bring your nieces, nephews, whoever wants to come, but even if you’d like to take a day to just play and feel free there is nothing wrong with that. So many adults fear the unknown, why do some mature people act so infantile? It is not that they refuse to grow up, but mainly they realize there is nothing wrong with having fun once in a while, so long as the fun is legal. You can be a giant kid in a sophisticated manner, as long as you realize your responsibility to your job, significant other, your own children (if you have them) and all aspects of life. Playing with toys was accepted when we were kids, why not now? The people who impulsively collect may be more mature than you think, they know there is no rush to grow up because when you’re old you are old and you can’t turn back time, no matter how cool that would be. So for now enjoy the complexity and simplicity of youth, I know I do.

Beginning of July Update

2010-07-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Well not much is going on so far in July, I hurt my leg somehow and was told it might be a blood clot from a random Dr. at a health clinic. I went out of my way to go to get an ultrasound to further investigate in the middle of nowhere and it was nothing...needless to say I'm never going back to that health clinic. Missed a day of work for it and now I feel fine. I'm going to try to make it to the Midnight Release party of the final Scott Pilgrim comic book. I sure hope it's a doozy, it's been built up a lot. I know the movie is based on all 6 books. I have 5 so far (the first two of which are signed by Bryan Lee O'Malley, the creator) and waiting to see the outcome of Mr. Pilgrim. I like the fact that it's Canadian and has a lot of gaming and music humor thrown in. Waiting with anticipation has inspired me to scope out some of making of video blogs that Edgar Wright documented while on set. I've also made a little cartoon avatar of myself. This is me as a Scott Pilgrim character:

Well, as if that guy needs any more publicity...his books have probably received enough with this new movie. Something that may need a bit of publicity though is the comedy stylings of Andre Arruda who is appearing in a cool comedy show this Wednesday called the "Anti-Giants of Comedy". Andre was awesome enough to request I do a cartoon of him for the flier. So here's the cartoon I drew of him that he enjoyed enough to post on facebook (he'd always wanted to see himself as a cartoon) and here is the finished flier that has the head of host comedian of the nerds, Gavin Stephens:

That's just some of the work I've been doing lately. In addition to some of my latest comics I've been trying to post (hope you've been keeping up with them) I've also drawn a random pinup of Tara I felt was kinda fun and almost retro looking. Love her x-ray specs, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want a pair for myself. Hope you enjoy it:

So that pretty much ends the beginning of July's update so far. Hope you like what I've been doing, and maybe I'll see some of you at these upcoming events!

June 2010

2010-06-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

So this month has been ok so far. Haven't had much time to do my comics but I've been trying to work over-time when I get home from work trying to do what I can to keep up to date as much as possible for Tom Boy Tara. I've been drawing caricatures for people, and just completed a portrait of Deena for my friend's b-day. I hope she likes it. I'm normally not cheap like that, but she enjoys the character of Deena and also I spent a ton of money when I was down in Niagra Falls for the weekend. It was very unexpected. Beautiful down there, but man does that place financially drain you. There are in fact, no cheap vacations! Well, that being said, I also attended the Fan Appreciation convention this month, in which you have to pay to get in on the Sunday, but you get a $10 voucher that you can spend at the con on any of the vendors. I ended up getting a pretty cool comic belt and a Scott Pilgrim wallet that some dude was making. Tried not to spend too much, but you know how it goes. Love the summer for cons...but my wallet hates it. So I shall now leave you with a portrait I drew, scanned and coloured in Photoshop. The portrait of Deena:

May 2010 Update!

2010-05-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hello! I've been so busy in the month of May I haven't been able to do a blog post in a while! I've been attending comedy shows, Rock Band nights, and even got a new job! It's been nothing but creativity happening lately...it's a bit over-whelming funnily enough.

The month started out amazing with the help of FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! I love that day anyways, I look forward to it all year 'round. This year was somewhat different though, but in a good way (as if FREE COMIC BOOK DAY can get any better!) and I ended up drawing with a bunch of pro comic artists in the industry at Paradise Comics! It was extremely fun and quite the honor! Of course few people had heard of me but I had a lot of friends come out. I drew about 12 drawings in 6 hours...one every half hour I guess while I chatted with the cool artists, cosplayers and many of the comic fans and kids who made it out for the awesome event! It was very exciting! I drew one pic of the Swedish Chef as an inside joke for a friend and everyone wanted me to draw them a Muppet for the rest of the day. I was type-cast but that's fine by me as I love Jim Henson's creations anyways so it was my personal tribute. There were many pix and videos taken of the event with my brand new digital camera I saved up to buy. Thanks to the wonderful people at Paradise Comics who made it all happen! Later on in the evening I attended Nerdgasm Comedy show where I dressed as my version of Hermione from Harry Potter and attended a Rock Band event much later! It was a tiring but fun-filled day for sure!

The next weekend my work sent me and some other fellow employees to a charity auction where I happened to meet Michael "Pinball" Clemens and I had no idea he was going to be there! He was super nice! I've also been extremely busy drawing some pictures for wonderful clients of mine. I just did an image meant to be turned into a tattoo for a fellow nerd girl pinup I met as well as drew some caricatures for a comedian for an upcoming flier for his comedy show. I've done this all while working full time at my new job and trying to keep up with posting my weekly comic.

Oh and who can forget TCAF! I attended TCAF (the Toronto Comic Arts Festival) in which a lot of Indy artists and webcomic creators, etc. came out of the woodwork and I even got to meet the very humble and cool Daniel Clowes! I was so beyond nervous as I am such a fan of his work! His unique art style and inspirational writing has made me want to pursue this industry for quite some time. I am not saying I am like him by any means but I feel he and I have a similarity when it comes to intuitive comic creation...at least from interviews I've read about him and things I've heard. He was very cool, he signed the copy of Wilson I picked up as well as the cover of "Now Magazine" that featured a giant article on him as well as a self-portrait drawn by him. He joked about how he'll sign his self-portrait by giving himself a tattoo on his neck and how he should do that in real life. I was so nervous I blurted out something dumb about me being a wuss and wouldn't have the balls to get a tattoo but that'd be cool. He musta thought I was a huge dork. Either way he took a ghetto flier I was handing out of my comic and said he'd check my stuff out. If he did I'll probably never know, but man, it was still cool that he took the flier anyways...ahhh, I'm such a retarded fan girl!

TCAF had many other cool comic artists there too! I talked to so many cool people and was practically broke by the end of it, buying comics, a t-shirt, a balloon, a Frisbee, socks, etc...so many things, so little time. I was there for only 3 hours but it was a blast! Then I had to go off and paint some kids faces at a party. Which was totally fun too!

So my latest comic #146 has been a cartoon cross-over...which is kinda lame I know but it managed to work out a bit in my comic. I like to draw some inside jokes in my comic sometime...so inside only I seem to be laughing, so I decided to let people in on a little secret as I know not everyone has read my actual published comic books! Sarah (the red-headed girl Tobey seems to be slightly smitten with lately) was the star of my one time only book "Why I Hate Cheerleaders", so I decided to make it known with a little asterisk in the comic. I advertised for the Dork Girl trilogy way more than I did for "Why I Hate Cheerleaders" which is a shame 'cuz I really enjoyed creating that book. Maybe after I made it known that Sarah is Tobey's new love interest all grown up and in college now, people may search it out and pick up a copy or two. If not...it was worth a shot? Anyways, may I say, this has been a very interesting and creative May.

Jade Coloured

2010-04-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

So I decided to colour in Lexia's line art of Jade she drew for me at the Wizard World Convention. I had some time and wanted to do some art so it made sense to just have fun with it. I like how it turned out. Now, I made the pillows those colours for a reason just so you know. A friend of mine is doing a project for the H.S.S.E. (Heterosexuals for Same-Sex Equality) and I liked the idea of the organization. I just did my own mini tribute to it by colouring in this picture of Jade and using the pillows to show the colours of the groups logo. More information of the H.S.S.E. can be found here:

www.straightnotnarrow.ca

In case you're interested in further information on it.

Jade

2010-03-31T07:23:00.000-07:00

So this is Alexandria Proudfoot's sexy version of Jade. And such a fitting picture to add after posting my newest comic #139. It's a pivotal twist in the comic and may or may not be shocking to some. If you haven't read the comic I suggest you go and read it now before reading forward in this blog post.

I always deep down knew that I was going to make Jade bi. She's a very experimental person to begin with. Plays by her own rules and does not care what society thinks of her. For a long time I was contemplating whether or not I should do this particular comic, seeing as some people may either be pissed off or maybe even happy that I did this. It could go either way. The comic is about gender stereotypes and being who you are, and I think that it was only fitting that I made one of the characters gay or bisexual to show that it's ok to be yourself. Even though Tara's reaction was abrupt and Jade read her all wrong, I'm sure somewhere down the line there will be some kind of reconciliation. Jade is too cool of a character to phase out. This will not be the last you see of her. However be prepared for more drama unfolding soon after. At least now people will get the point of the comic #69. Yes I've known since then that Jade was going to be this way, actually it was a thought I had when I first created her but for a while I wasn't brave enough to follow through with it. I think it was a good idea to allow Tara to trust Jade and then have her spring it on her unexpectedly. Hopefully you won't stop reading the comic after this, it gets interesting later on.

Wizard World Comicon 2010

2010-03-30T06:55:00.001-07:00

Well, Wizard World Comicon was a tremendous success! So many cool things happened! It's amazing how just sitting in one spot at a table can accomplish so much. A person brought a ferret by our table so we had to take a picture of my boyfriend Matt wearing a "You Dunno Jack" Shirt. A girl with Tom Boy Tara hair wandered by so we had to take a picture of her, naturally. I met Winston from the Ghost Busters! He hugged me!!! Also signed a Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man piggy bank I own. So cool! I'll explain most of these pix.

This is me at Wizard World on the first day with a random con outfit I decided to wear. Plus my cool utility belt for making change when someone buys my merch.

Me at the table on the 1st day, guarding all my merch.

This is the second day, with me at the table guarding my merchandise.

This was my crew that stayed with me at the tables Saturday and Sunday. Alexandria with the blue/purple hair and Matt with the Cicadas shirt on.

This was my t-shirt I made for Tobey in one of my comic strips and thought it looked cool so I bought it for myself to wear around on Saturday.

This is my friend Tina who is a colourist/cosplayer that attends my comic book Wednesday crew hang out sessions on occasion. She found my dolls and robot pencil sharpener and enjoyed them immensely, as you can see.

I got this cool "Game Over" cuff for fun! I like video games on occasion and it went with my blk and wht ensemble quite well.

I tracked down artist Attila Adorjany and purchased a shirt from him. He does a very cool webcomic Metaphysical Neuroma, definitely check out his stuff!

These are some of my pins and Convention Magnets I made by hand to sell. They're all like unique fridge art. I drew lots of replicas of these babies.

This is me and the comic crew on the 3rd day at the con. We're all pretty tired by this point but we're still havin' fun!

Ok so this guy isn't the real Jack, but we had to take a picture of him. It was just too cool to see a ferret at the convention when I had Jack plastered all over my merch as you can see here.

Yes, it's Tom Boy Tara for realsies! Naw, this girl just had her hair but it was so epic we had to take a photo of her!

I met Xena! I mainly took this pic for my friend Melinda who loves Xena, but man, her costume was really incredible! So much detail! It was superb!

Me gettin' in the middle of a Storm Trooper prom. I just had to disrupt it!

Lexia was doing some cool drawings for me of Jade and has done past awesome drawings for me of Tara, Tobey, Jack and Deena, so on the last day I told her she should make some money off her drawings. She ended up making $30 bucks after drawing two commissions for people and had so much fun doing it she wants to be more prepared for next time and make a ton of prints for the next con. Hopefully we see more of her work soon. I will soon post her Jade drawing in another post.

As if the con wasn't cool enough I met Ernie Hudson, A.K.A. Winston from Ghost Busters and got my piggy bank signed by him! My boyfriend then bought me a Ghost Busters jersey (which I've wanted for a long time) for having such a good con! Seriously best con evar!

March Update

2010-03-18T09:35:00.001-07:00

The month of March has been an interesting one. A lot has been going on. My birthday was on the 5th, and we ended up doing a little karaoke party in celebration of the occasion. I got a friggin' amazing present! Most of my friends know I'm a huge fan of Back to the Future, and every week when I go into the comic store on Wednesday I drool over the Back to the Future miniature Time Machine replica from the 2nd movie (my fave one) but I could never afford it. I honestly didn't think my friends were listening every time I said, "I'm going to get that when I get the money to...someday it will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine." Turns out I was uber shocked! My friends had cameras poised awaiting my reaction when I peeked inside the bag and realized what they pooled their money in to buy me. I was so gleeful I couldn't stop hugging my new delorian. It lights up, and makes sounds and everything! Definite conversation piece if the party convo ever died down...which I don't think it ever did. It was a super fun night, and I don't think anyone had a shitty time...if they did I didn't notice cuz I was having too much fun myself.

Well, it's been decided. I'm going to the Wizard World Toronto Comicon on March 26-28th at the Direct Energy Centre. I have a whole table to myself in which I will be displaying my t-shirts, buttons, prints, my comics and portfolio of other things I have done. Not to mention will possibly be doing commissions of my cartoons for a small fee which will either go to me eating food for the day or I may put it towards my site depending on how many people will buy stuff from me I guess. A cool little pic of me and my work as well as a bio of me is being displayed on the Wizard World Site here:
http://www.wizardworld.com/home-toronto.html
and here:
http://www.wizardworld.com/emilyragozzino.html
Needless to say I'm super excited to be going to the event! I hope to see a lot of cool people there!

I think that just about ends my little blog for March...there were many other things that happened in this month too, but whatever, it's not necessarily comic related. On that note, enjoy some of my new comics I've displayed. The plot's been thickening:
http://www.tomboytara.com/comics01.php

Facepaint, "Fan Art" and Feature

2010-02-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

So I tried my hand at face-painting recently. Went to my niece's 1st birthday and tried to paint her face, but as I predicted she was all fidgety so I painted her mom's face instead. It's harder than I thought on another person, but perhaps it's because a lot of moving around was going on, seeing as my niece was in her mom's lap, and well, you know babies, they have attention-span problems and won't sit still. or something. So I painted my own face afterward. I tried a bunny design. Yes I actually went in public with this paint on my face too. It was too funny. I went to pet shops and toy stores and the kids seemed to love it. The adults mind you, some thought it was great, others tried to veer their kids away from me when I was walking along. I got a few disgusted glances. I'm a girl for crying out loud! I just came back from a b-day party for my niece! I'm not trying to creep anyone out...but whatever, people are afraid of clowns and dolls, I guess it's a legit thing to be freaked out about. I guess I was just brave walkin' around the mall like that. Most people wouldn't bother, they'd instantly wash it off.

So whatever, it was a fun little adventure anyways. As well recently I coloured in Alexandria's guest art she gave me recently. It was incredibly hard to resist...I just had this urge! Her line work was so inviting! I just needed to, ya know?

Also for those interested, I have a little advertisement on a cool website about the Canadian Creative Community called Thebroker.ca

My webcomic as well as my products are shown there and other info about my business is listed.

http://thebroker.ca/home/classifieds/for-sale/8/Tom-Boy-Tara-Products/Toronto/Artists_

If you're a Canadian artist and would like to advertise for a whole year for free please join "Thebroker.ca" and you will be able to easily do so! It's a great place to be for artists and you can converse and meet other artists like yourself that will make your current business more fun in the long run!

Why Women May Be Like This

2010-02-17T10:56:00.001-08:00

I've been reading incredible articles recently on gender stereotypes and tolerance of the sexes (keeping in the know with articles like this helps keep my writing fresh and allows me to think about how each character would react in certain situations) and it's amazing what they're discussing.

I first stumbled across an article on the new Barbie they are releasing called "Computer Geek Barbie" which was actually based on an online public survey about what her next career should be. Even though everything is very pink to make it gender specific the idea (though behind the times) is somewhat respectable. Why shouldn't they portray women as intelligent in the doll world. They're doing it mainly because the Barbie franchise is going under and the older women collectors have given up on the thought of collecting the dolls so they want to hear what the public wants for a change. I've been making Tom Boy Tara dolls for the hell of it, just to see what she'd look like in 3-D form and to show a prototype option if a manufacturer of toys ever came into play. I've dressed her in jeans and a t-shirt (with a logo I made myself ironed onto the shirt) and I found such clothes from a very hard to find Ken collection. When I look at Barbie clothes in search of something else for Tara to wear all I see is pink clothes or dresses/skirts so I have to turn to Ken. This may come as a shock to the companies but women wear pants too, and not every woman is a fan of pink either.

I then came across some other articles randomly in my search to find a picture of this new Barbie to be released soon. I just wanted to see exactly how girly she still looks despite her nerdy appearance. In my search I came across numerous articles on a website for Women's Rights. Now I'm not a feminist, I may understand how women should be equal to men but I believe some women's lib representatives take it a tad too far, thus confusing men to no end as to how to behave around women now. Though I think some of these articles have a ring of truth to them.

http://womensrights.change.org/blog?category_id=gender_stereotypes&page=4

From videogame equality (as I mentioned to my boyfriend recently, it's interesting how there's always at least one woman thrown into a handful of male characters in most videogames, some women like adventure too, maybe they should have a few more choices of female characters) to men being pregnant, there were a lot of fascinating articles on gender stereotypes.

I particularly enjoyed the article that discusses women Photoshopping their own images in the hopes that they'll look like a magazine cover model. It's true, women are notorious for wanting to look good, but strive for perfection even more so than ever before. I admit I've even been known to Photoshop my own images, either for ironic reasons (I once got rid of my giant belly in a photo of me dressed as Jessica Rabbit for Halloween to show the unrealistic body expectations people have with cartoon women) or if it was to remove a tiny blemish or zit from a close-up shot for a portrait that was taken, I have been known to be vain too. However I may not go to the extreme as some women do. In real life on occasion I'll dress to the nines for fun, but when hangin' 'round the house I'll just lie around in the clothes I've worn from the night before, hair in disarray, lookin' like a mad scientist just to get my comics or projects done. I left perfectionism behind long ago when I realized I was going no where with it. Even in my art, if I made sure everything was perfect I'd never get my stuff out. I know my drawings aren't completely accurate nor are my panel boxes ruler straight, but I know even though there are flaws in my art, and even flaws in myself I know that someone (though not everyone mind you) will find it beautiful and that's all that truly matters.

"I've certainly fallen victim in the past trying to reach these unattainable goals of beauty. And I can tell you - the pursuit of physical perfection is far more damaging in the long run than any short term beauty ambition."~ Jen Nedeau (Picture Perfect. Or Not.) I completely agree with this statement. From seeing countless dramas on plastic surgery and the like I feel women (and perhaps even men) need to realize that nobody's perfect and that even surgery cannot fill your self-esteem void. Photoshop is a mere band-aid and only makes you look completely false as a person. You're not showing the world who you really are, in fact you're lying to those around you that you think won't accept you for who you really are. Who cares what other people think? The people who don't love you for you aren't worth keeping around and those who accept you inside and out are the true friends, those you need to treasure. I know it's hard to hear sometimes, and I'm sure hard to believe, and we as a gender still have far to go even though we've accomplished so much tolerance, but perhaps one day we will see just how beautiful we really are and will grow to accept it.

Guest Art

2010-02-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

So every Wednesday night I get together with a clan of the most amazing comic people and chill in the comic store (as it is new comic book day in comic land for those who are unfamiliar) and afterward a select bunch of us may end up going to Tim Horton's to have a donut and shoot the shit. While at a random Timmies I was with my friend Alexandria Proudfoot who happens to have the most gorgeous head of blue hair that reminded me of Tara instantly as soon as I saw her. Naturally we became fast friends and I told her about my comic. She found it, read them all, sent it to a friend and the next time we meet she shows me her drawing skills. I was in awe just watching her draw her version of Tara, Tobey and Jack. She gave me the wonderful drawing she did and I am no doubt adding it to my guest art on my website once it's set up, but for now I will show you the wonderful work here:

I love it! She captured the characters so well! And no doubt earns an eternity of gold stars for adding Jack in the backpack lookin' all adorable. I friggin' love guest art.

If you or anyone you know would like to do guest art for Tom Boy Tara and send it my way, please do! I love seeing the different styles of art people have. You can send it via e-mail to tomboytaracomics@hotmail.com and I'll be sure to post a little tale about it in my blog and give you full credit for it. Love seeing this stuff! Happy drawing!

Marionettes and Mannequins

2010-02-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

So I figured it's about time for an update. First of all, Happy V-day to those who like the "holiday" and for those who don't, don't worry, I've been in sitches where I wanted to hurt/kill/destroy every happy person holding hands before too, it's not a new phenomenon, just rest assured that a vast majority of people are with you on the animosity of such a stupid idea for a day.

Well with that out of the way, I have been a bit secretive lately and have been withholding some information about some recent projects on the go right now. I don't want to blab too much about it but I think it's going to come together nicely so I'd like to start discussing it now.

I've joined up with a fabulous artist friend (who will remain nameless until I get his permission to speak about him in such blogs) and we will be collaborating on a comic book together. I wrote a story a while back actually after I finished "Why I Hate Cheerleaders" and before I began this Tom Boy Tara saga entitled, "Marionettes and Mannequins". The writing is still being tweaked at the moment but the artwork, from what I've seen, will be outstanding! We hope to have a few books published by Fan Expo or at least we hope that we will if our deadlines work out for us. The wheels are definitely turning on this project, and we already have a bunch of cool people helping us with the making of it so hopefully the book series will be epic! I hope once we're done you all come out to Fan Expo and pick up a copy of a book or two (depending on what we finish by then I'm sure) and chit chat with us. I wanna start promoting it now 'cuz I can honestly see the idea going very well. It has promise for sure.

Well, I figured I was due to give you guys a little update so hope you like hearing what's going on. I have a few other projects happening too all at once but I'm taking my time with sharing the information because I'm not too sure how smoothly it's going to go. Take care guys, and in the mean time enjoy the new comics I've been updating!

Awards and Valentines!

2010-01-20T11:38:00.001-08:00

I am proud to announce I am part of the website for the Joe Shuster awards. My name is listed under "R" here:

http://joeshusterawards.com/links-to-canadian-creators/

Also I am under the links to Canadian Creators- Webcomics as well as mentioned on the list of 2009 submissions of the Gene Day Award which was just created for the first time in 2009. My book "Why I Hate Cheerleaders" was submitted by Darryl Spiers who runs the Toronto comic book Store Cyber City Comics. Needless to say I'm extremely excited! Things appear to be coming together quite nicely.

I also would like to display a fun little link for you all, it's a t-shirt I made for Tobey in the special edition Valentine's Day comic strip #63:

Speaking of Valentine's Day! I also made a few little Anti-Valentine's Day Cards from Tom Boy Tara, check 'em out:

Tom Boy Tara Anti-Valentine by ~Pishposh555 on deviant ART

Tobey and Deena Anti-Valentine by ~Pishposh555 on deviant ART

And for the actual Valentine's Day lover, I made regular Valentine's just for you:

Deena Valentine by ~Pishposh555 on deviant ART

Jack Valentine by ~Pishposh555 on deviant ART

Hope you enjoy all the new Valentine's Day fun!

2010 Is Gonna Be Good!

2010-01-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hello all you wonderful people! This year has already been fun and quite creatively fulfilling! I recently joined a fabulous Canadian Artist community called The Broker found at:

http://thebroker.ca/home/

It's great for artists who are trying to make a living off of their art and get out there. My comics and bio are being posted in the featured artist section called, "Spotlight". The wonderful thing about the community is that the founders of the site are extremely active with giving their creatives all the help they need to reach their full potential and help them out with finding a job they love, get the exposure they deserve all while attracting new and old potential clients online.

If you're an artist I highly recommend joining the site, if you aren't but have artist friends I say spread the word about it and make your artist friend happy allowing them to meet with like-minded people on the site as well as get out there and have fun doing a job they enjoy! It's a great creative outlet anyways.

So I've also got a new online portfolio at:

http://emilyrags.daportfolio.com/

There you will find my wonderful caricatures I've been dabbling in as well as my other art. I've been trying to do caricatures because I may end up doing some for private parties. Should be a lot of fun!

Anyways, this is just some of my wonderful art news for the year thus far. I'm sure there will be lots more to come as I'm working hard at getting out there. Please don't hesitate to drop me a line if you like what I'm doing...and even if you don't. Ha ha ha!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

This new Year of 2010 looks promising for TBT, I can feel it in my bones! I've already commenced the year with new comics and as promised I will be updating a comic once a week at least.

I have had a few art related projects asked of me this new year already and I hope the projects keep on coming. I want to stay busy and practice my drawing techniques as much as possible. I'm not going to reveal the projects just yet as I don't want to jinx them, but stay tuned. I may reveal a few things I'm going to be working on if things run smoothly. The life of a freelance artist is definitely a difficult one, but fun none-the-less. You never know what the future may bring that's for sure! :)

December Update

2009-12-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

Oh man, it's been too long since I've last posted and there's lots of comic news happenin' too! First off I want to say that I am now able to upload comics whenever I want on my website and not at the leisure of my brother who makes the site happen for me. He's busy with other things and I couldn't keep coming to him for assistance all the time so now I have a special part of my website that I can access to upload. I intend on trying to do at least one comic a week until I start making money off of my site and then maybe updates will be more frequent. It'll be random though throughout the week so you never know when I'm updating. You hafta keep checking back regularly to see what's going on in Tom Boy Tara Land.

2nd off, I attended the fabulous Nerd Girl Pinups Burlesque show and I must say it was an extremely fun night! I dressed as the always awesome Tank Girl for the evening and got such a huge response from it random people were introducing themselves and taking pictures with me. I apparently made a birthday boy's night by posing with him and allowing him to wear my helmet. I also got to sign a Frisbee that most of the pinups were signing that night. The burlesque numbers were fabulous, the music wonderful and the comedic acts and host were top-notch as well. Dancing was had in the after party (but being an uber nerd myself I didn't voluntarily dance with the exception of demonstrating for 5 seconds my horrible cabbage-patch routine I often do) and I met a lot of very cool people that night!

3rdly, This Friday...so tomorrow I'm attending a comedy event called "Nerdgasm" which is a comedy show/mini comicon and I will be handing out fliers for my webcomic at this delightful affair. I met the very cool Ian Atlas who's running the whole show and he was kind enough to invite me to the show and let me know I can advertise while there. So needless to say I'm excited about that.

*whew* Lots of stuff happening in the comic realm these days, and I hope it continues to progress, as this comic artist is definitely hungry and I hope I can make some moolah off my wears at least to pay for my site and my dinner. Speaking of which, I have a brand new t-shirt design I made for Tobey a while ago but I just created it in t-shirt form recently. Check it out at:

If you feel like an awesome x-mas present there's free express shipping upgrades to Canada until the 15th of December.

I think that's all the info I'd like to share for now. Hopefully everyone has a wicked Chrismukkah and a happy new year and you'll keep on readin' the comics I'm going to update frequently! Enjoy the Tank Girl Pictures of me from the Nerd Girl Burlesque show.

Nerd Girl Pinups

2009-11-13T09:27:00.000-08:00

So I'm becoming a part of Nerd Girl Pinups under the name "Pish Posh" very soon. Just got some really fun photos done by a very cool photographer, Nicole R. It was a fun day for sure, and I'm going to support a Burlesque Show that is going to be held in Toronto which is meant to raise money for the website, hopefully everything goes well there. So I was on the site www.nerdgirlpinups.com and was looking at the other artists that are posted on the site and came across the wonderful art of Victoria Lee Panos who is a local artist residing in TO like myself. I clicked on her deviant art link and saw she did some line art for the upcoming show's flyer. She encouraged others to colour it so that's what I did. I printed off the picture (unfortunately the boots were cut off in the process but in my defense when I began colouring I didn't think it would turn out so well) and coloured it with prisma markers. The results are obviously above, I think it's probably my best work thus far with those markers. I know I have a long way to go to catch up with some amazing colourists as colouring isn't my forte but I sure had fun doing it and like how it turned out.

The Life of a Tomboy

2009-09-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

Why is it acceptable to be a tomboy and not so much for a man to be sensitive? I suppose it has to do with the way we're raised.

Some people prefer raising girls as tomboys because parents feel they have less of a chance with dealing with a girl's natural sexual nature and therefore the girl will have less of a chance to get pregnant because they're not going to have "slut potential" when they get older. However, some of the most gorgeous girls in the world when they're older happened to be tomboys at a young age. They often played sports and enjoyed it so therefore they know how to work out and be healthy that way, as well, they know how to be who they are and are confident with themselves. Sometimes they get sick of being just "one of the guys" and do a complete 360 when it comes to the looks department and they eventually try looking girly and all that.

If a boy is sensitive, it's fine for the mom, but the dad often has a problem with that because the boy isn't asserting himself or being dominant with the opposite gender and therefore will never procreate. This is fine if the mom still wants to baby their son and turn him into a "momma's boy" but to the father in a two-parent home it spells trouble and a lifetime ahead of rejection after rejection of the opposite sex which in turn creates self-esteem issues and heartache.

The way I see it, if you're a tomboy for life though it's because you enjoy everything that world has to offer. I've had the occasional comment that I'm "too pretty to be a tomboy" from random people at conventions I go to. To be honest I wasn't always tomboyish in nature right off the bat. To be truthful when I was really young about 2 or 3 I wanted to be a ballerina, my favorite colours were pink and purple and I adored unicorns or anything that resembled a horse. To be fair I still like some of those things but I'm not as into those things as I was at the age of three. At 5 I wore frilly dresses and my hair was super curly and I loved My Little Ponies, however instead of sitting in the front row with the girls who braided each others hair while the teacher read us books and showed us pictures, I would be in the back with the boys making fart jokes and whispering obscene things about poop.

Later I discovered Ninja Turtles and even faked doing karate moves, imitating the shelled creatures I loved to watch after school. When I got to my awkward adolescent phase I wore baggy shirts (some of which I took from my older brother's drawer that he left behind when he went to University) and jeans with holes in the knees. I didn't wear make-up, hell I didn't care. I refused to tell anyone who I had a crush on in school for fear the guy would find out and be repulsed by the notion that an ugly tomboy would remotely like him. When I didn't tell people about my crushes I was called a lesbian because of how I looked and my too secretive nature. I opted to eventually reveal my celeb crushes because no one would let them know how I felt.

In High School there were a lot of guys around my locker. Some of which were very nice and not bad to look at. It wasn't until I saw a horrible photo of myself that was mandatory for us to get on picture day that I realized how hideous I have become. I eventually bought more girly clothes and started to experiment with make-up. It wasn't until the end of high school that I had my first boyfriend and I admit I wasn't really ready for it then, especially since I was alone my whole life up into that point in time. When I got to college I still looked fairly girly and even ended up being annoying in relationships doing things I know guys hate like pouting to get my way and raising my voice an octave higher to put on a cutesy baby voice that I know now makes guys shudder. I realized I wasn't being true to who I was by acting this way, I was just giving into how girls think they should act and be. I eventually went back to my tomboyish ways and hung out with guys and rather liked it. Not that girls aren't fun to hang out with, but guys are more chill and they have a guy code so they'll keep some big secrets of yours if you don't want them to spread the word. To me giving into my tomboyish nature isn't about not caring about what I look like or being mean to people. It's about being chill, being yourself and being confident with who you are naturally and not about what society tells you how you should be.

Mini TBT Updates!

2009-09-26T08:48:00.001-07:00

So recently I received a picture I got taken of me standing with the REAL Tom Boy Tara. No, I didn't base the comic about her, she was a random girl I met at the Fan Expo by the name of Tara who just happens to be tomboy-ish in nature and also managed to randomly find my webcomic as well as save it under her favorites on her computer.

Also, another very cool thing that's happened to me recently is I got a mini article written in a very sick online 'zine giving their recognition to my crazy webcomic. If you wanna check it out the post is here:
http://screwthestatusquo.blogspot.com/
Enjoy guys! :)

Fan Expo '09

2009-09-16T19:10:00.001-07:00

So Fan Expo 2009 was an interesting experience. It was my first giant convention and needless to say it was a bit over-whelming at first, especially for a brand new web comic artist who's entering the scene. I've been to conventions before at least once a year for about 3 years now but I still consider myself a newbie in the comic world. Hopefully with a lot of hard work and time that will eventually change.

I got only a few pictures at the Fan Expo of myself and table-mate CK Russell. The pic of the girl in the center is my roommate and model for my Tom Boy Tara photo shoot, Sarah Jay. She played Tara...she looks different without the short, blue wig I know, like a whole different person. I'm standing next to Darren Kelly in the picture of me in my glasses. He was sitting beside us at my very first comic convention and he does sick CGI art. He's such a cool guy! Very sweet and funny, and a tremendous artist and supporter of all things comic related.

I must admit I cried when I got home my first night from the Expo, I thought I was going to have a horrible next couple of days, however Saturday was a whole new day and it turned around for the better, even though it was packed with people who had been waiting ever so patiently to get into to the expensive con and I made less money on Saturday than I did on Friday it was still a fun and interesting experience and I got to see some familiar faces (friends and family attended the event) as well as new faces. I also got to meet the real Tom Boy Tara who was an actual tomboy coincidentally named Tara who found my comic randomly in a search on the computer and saved it under favorites. How nuts is that? Sunday was the day I made the most money and it was fun and chill and I got so in the groove of the con I was actually sad when it came to a halt at the end of the day. I had lots of little merchandise pieces at the table like posters, paper dolls, stickers and buttons and lots of examples of crazy art I've done to show what my website was all about.

I hafta admit my "edible business cards" I created went off without a hitch! I came up with the idea to make fortune cookie business cards randomly and made real fortunes that had to do with situations in my comic in some way or another. It had a teeny tiny logo with my website on it that turned out to be tinier than I had hoped and told people to use a magnifying glass to read it but I told them what it said in case they couldn't read it. My actual business cards were instantly out on Saturday (I should have made more for sure) and I was glad I had back up fortune cookie biz cards at that point in time.

So yeah, the con went well, better than I thought it would for a person without a fan base at the Fan Expo and hopefully I got a few more people reading my stuff...I hope.

2009-08-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

So I started off having the idea of using an old pic of me and trying to do something fun by mixing cartoons with real life (something I always wished was true, but it's not...oh well) and I started off messing around with the image of me and the thought bubble which eventually evolved into me in the shades with Tara on my shoulder which got me thinking about the devil on the shoulder routine and how Deena seems all good and innocent and Tara seems like the bad girl. There's two sides to every girl, even if it's the girly girl or the tomboy, one is more prominent than the other just like good or bad sides. I'm sure every man has a more masculine or sensitive, good side. So whatever, these pix were pretty fun to do, and it felt like I was bringing my ideas more to life. Not only that but it sorta visually shows my constant inner struggle with my inner tomboy and girly side which I feel Tara and Deena strongly represent.

Women Like Comics Too?

2009-07-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

I read recently while creeping the internet and checkin' out upcoming comic cons that 25% of the comic conventions these days consist of women. Which is actually waaaay better then it was just a few years ago. Why the recent rise in females? Well, if you notice, a lot of cartoons appear to be girl friendly these days. Not only that but Manga and Anime are constructed in such a beautiful and cute way that women can enjoy it too. Men, most likely enjoy it for the sexual appeal it has and the cool costumes, which often brings the really hot girls to cons later.

Many girls are really into making the elaborate outfits to be their favorite character, and some get into it more than the guys do. Lots of attention to detail goes into it, I mean, I guess there are a lot of seamstress' out there, and not a lot of men like to admit that they have the ability to sew 'cuz that's a "girls past time" but I must admit, I am often impressed when a man tells me he knows how to sew or even has a bit of knowledge of fashion. Some girls (these days) don't even know that sorta stuff.

Anyways, the industry needs this, for sure. Comic books are dying slightly, with the exception of the growing popularity of comic book movies, this recent recession bringing about cheap ways for people to entertain themselves and with women becoming involved it's not as bad as it could be. If you think of statistics, the high percentage of people who shop and decide what products to own are often women. They are the people who tell men what they can or can't have when they become a couple, and often times (I've seen it time and time again, not always mind you, but often) a woman will clean out a man's comic book collection and say they need to grow up and get rid of it. The woman is brainwashing the guy to give her their undivided attention so the woman doesn't just sit around bored while a man reads and enjoys his comic books, which is what he often did before she came along, let's face it. The man goes along with it, cuz, well it means sex, let's face it. However, if the woman is into comic books too, she can enjoy the books with the man, read her own, even get into something he is reading too.

To me I see comic books as kind of a storyboard for an even greater idea, one that can easily be animated if it looks like the plot is interesting enough, and women are also getting into animation too. A vast majority of characters in cartoons have strong, sexy females in it. Perhaps it's the way guys view some women, or it's how they want their fantasy woman to be, I guess it depends on the creator of the female character, but most of the time, I don't know about all women, but I relate to more of the women in cartoons than I do on TV shows that have been filmed with real people. I related to Daria, and Jessie from Undergrads, and even Joan of Arc from Clone High. It's funny, how even though cartoons are not entirely supposed to be a realistic portrayal of people and yet I relate to them more than anything I often watch. Perhaps this recent revelation that cartoon women are more easily related to, has been the outbreak epiphany a lot of women have been having too. Now if only we can harness that more and introduce it to even more women, and show them that cartoons are not just for children.

The whole "girls mature faster than boys" thing may be true, but it doesn't have to be, there are plenty of girls who want to stay young. Perhaps not as young as a 12 year-old, but I think my youthful mind and constant need to moisturize is partially what makes people mistake me for almost a decade younger than I actually am. I take it as a compliment, because as most women strive to stay youthful, I know I AM youthful, I don't even really need to try. So cartoons are good for the mind, body and soul apparently, at least that's my philosophy. Of course you have to find the cartoon that you like best, and it's hard when there's so many books out there you don't know where to begin. Ask a man who knows you well what they think you may like, or even if you know a fellow female comic enthusiast don't be afraid to ask her what she recommends, you never know, you may end up liking it.

2009-07-28T06:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have no patience to animate whatsoever, but on occasion I attempt to animate by doing a series of action positions, leaving out a lot of other positions but putting in the cool ones to get my point across at how the action is being done. I'm not the greatest at it, especially since it's all directly from my head, using no reference at all and not even giving a damn about perfection nor proportion. So this is what comes out. A fun, little piece with pen and pencil crayon on coloured Bristol board of Tara doing a cool little flip and then creating a handgun with her...well hands. How many girls or even guys for that matter have attempted to do this or at least seen others do this? It's cool when you do the tuck n' roll, which is what my old college friend Adria did frequently when she showed us how her karate lessons were being put to good use. Tara takes the "tuck n' roll" to the extreme and does some crazy flip. She makes it look so easy...if I attempted to do this her way, I'd no doubt severely break something, so I have to live vicariously through her I suppose. It's just an awesome little piece that shows "girls just wanna have fun"...as the song goes, and yes, sometimes girls too like pretending we're some sort of bad ass super villain or heroine off to take care of someone. Even though tomboys aren't often seen as graceful, they can be if they know how to put their grace to good use.

New Board Game!

2009-07-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

I've created a new board game. It's fairly simple and straight forward and can be easy or hard depending on how complex you want to make it or how people work together. It's mainly for those who would like to break out of their writers/creative block and to see how people work as a team. I've tested it out on a few groups of friends, played it with just two people and then with four. The game is good for a few laughs. I thought it was interesting that those that were naturally creative and those that weren't still found it very fun. It wasn't about creating the perfect end result, but more about the process of it and having fun while doing it. The game is fairly quick, but if you like your end result you can make a better version of the finished product if you wish to do so. It's sorta like Pictionary(TM) but not really. Nobody wins or loses, there is no real "end goal" only a beginning. The end goal I suppose is to come up with an idea for a comic and collaborate as a team. It also seems to make people comfortable with showing their art or writing to people, because it's not supposed to be perfect and everyone is in the same boat, it allows people to laugh at themselves if their art or writing isn't the best, but it shows that even though they aren't the best they can still come up with a half-way decent finished product and perfection doesn't mean anything. The art and writing is quick, and the artist or writer only has control over one half of the finished product, so often the end result is very funny upon completion. There aren't a lot of games out there that aren't competitive. This has nothing to do with competition, in fact, it's more about teamwork, just the opposite goal of most games. I think it's a different game that everyone should play at least once in their life, in my humble opinion, and perhaps the world would be a more peaceful place if everyone worked as a team instead of competing.

Sample photos!

2009-07-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some sample shots of the wonderful Tom Boy Tara cosplay photo shoot taken by photographer Jonathan Cowper! Wicked shots man! Can't wait to see the rest! :) The graffiti wall featured in the tunnel is done by artist Trevor Goodwin. Jonathan and Trevor are both found through the links section of my website @ www.tomboytara.com if you are interested in contacting either one of them or checking out even more work by them. The models playing my characters are:
Tara- Sarah Jay
Tobey- Troy Edwards
Deena- Shannon McGrady
A special thanks also goes out to: Alex Ragozzino(videographer for a behind-the-scenes video currently being edited), Tania Flemming(hair stylist), Terry Gordon(assistant art director), Andrea Dinardo(wig and hair extension stylist), Sarah Jay(make-up artist)and Meagan Austin(moral support). I was the art director, costume/accessory provider (for certain parts of the costumes the models didn't already own), and also a model in certain pictures as "The creator" ha ha! Hopefully those pix will soon be released.

Customized Tom Boy Tara Dolls

2009-07-15T23:03:00.000-07:00

This is a doll photo shoot I took. I customized an Obitsu doll (painted her face, cut her hair and attached the head to the body) and a random other doll from some dumb Disney movie and bought some clothes I thought they'd wear. Painted Tobey's hair, glasses and mouth (the lips looked too girly) and customized their t-shirts as well. I also painted the CD inside the boom box and put "The Cicadas" logo on it (the made-up Indy band in my comics) and I love how the stupid Disney doll actually came with that stereo...it also has a cell phone and a microphone, but it wasn't necessary for the shoot.

TBT Photo Shoot!

2009-07-05T20:48:00.001-07:00

So today was an amazing day, not only was the weather gorgeous but it was a perfect day for a photo shoot (of a few friends of mine dressed as my main characters for my comic)that I had planned to do for months now. We had kept pushing the shoot back a lot due to schedule changes from the models or the photographer and I was so ready to throw in the towel with it. If it weren't for everyone being so into the idea for the shoot and tellin' me to just pick another date we can all agree on and stick with it I woulda said, "forget it." Thankfully despite my constant stressing and worrying that something would go wrong on this shoot things actually came together quite nicely. Everyone showed up so that was a good sign right there that things were going to be good. At first the shoot was a bit rocky cuz I'll admit I've never been an art director before, and I don't easily work well with others with my art (I'm a solitary artist) but the collaborations with the photographer and the models went off without a hitch. They were telling me to give them direction more, and I realized 'crap, right, they don't entirely know their characters, I need to inform them how they are a bit to give them an idea, to see what ideas they can come up with'. I gave them some direction and they eventually began feeling comfy once we got to the graffiti wall and saw all the possibilities with it. I think the key is not to put too much pressure on your models to be a certain way, even if it is about a certain character. I love candid photos and I knew this would be hard to do, so I tried to come up with a way to do something candid, though they were playing very specific characters. I just let the models call the shots. I let them improvise some ideas and get into their character's head and we actually ended up pulling out a whole bunch of props that worked well for the shoot that I never would have even thought about. The creative ideas were definitely flowing with everyone and people got really into it. We even caught some attention with people walking by. My brother even shot some behind-the-scene footage that we may post on the website too eventually. All in all we got some sweet shots and everyone had a blast doing it! A total adventure to remember. How often do people do photo shoots of cartoon characters? I guess it happens at Hallowe'en or comic conventions and even once in a while for other pro shoots, but it's a rare thing to do, and I think it turned out awesome, in my humble opinion.

Tom Boy Tara Dollfie Dolls

2009-07-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I've been looking into customizing dolls and I came across some beautiful Dollfie Dolls that my friend Elisha used to customize when I was in college. I recall loving the look of them but I forgot what they were called. She used to make their clothes out of tiny chain mail and they looked absolutely exquisite when she was done. Anyways I wanted to make my own Tom Boy Tara doll and found some parts, they're currently being shipped to me, so I'm going to have fun customizing Tara for sure! I noticed though that the male Dollfie dolls often looked extremely feminine. So I tried to photoshop a head to look like how I would make Tobey look and I found some clothes that looked like it might suit him a bit and photoshopped it slightly and he turned out like this pic! Maybe some day I'll make a Tobey doll that looks kinda like that. I think the secret to keeping them looking male is to cut the hair super short, keep the face plain and if you're not making them with glass eyes, keep the eye templates masculine with little to no eyelashes on them. LOL! I'm sure gonna have fun with this! YAY!

2009-06-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

A fun little pic I decided to do for fun with the three main characters of Tom Boy Tara! I have it as my desktop wallpaper! Ha ha!

2009-06-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

This was just a fun little picture I did of Tara...I like how her leather pants turned out. I decided to make it into kinda an ad for my comic, showing people what it's about more. It was definitely fun to do.

2009-06-20T09:00:00.001-07:00

Hey guys!

I've created some new products on zazzle.com and have also created new t-shirts at T-shirt Monster! Go to: http://www.tshirtmonster.ca/designer/gallery.asp?Designer=pishposh555 to check out my t-shirts and also check out my zazzle products at: http://www.zazzle.com/pishposh555

create & buy custom products at Zazzle

Comic Artist or Fashion Designer?

2009-06-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

So I've been busy makin' many products, t-shirts, tattoos, dog sweaters, etc. Am I a web comic artist? Am I a fashion designer? Who can tell? Ha ha! I've been havin' a blast comin' up with random t-shirt logos and cool products. I do love fashion, playing with it, dressin' in cool costumes and comin' up with creative clothing combinations. I actually enjoy dreaming up fun styles for my characters to wear and t-shirt logos for Tobey to own. Some days it is challenging, other days it appears to come to me naturally. I think that's a bit of my mom in me, she went to Sheridan the first year it was established and graduated from Fashion Design, so I watched her come up with clothes from tablecloths and sew our Hallowe'en costumes every year and eventually took a fashion course in high school. I've also worked at places where clothing was a dominant part of my job, like Suzy Shier and Value Village. I guess I enjoy clothes and people appear to enjoy the designs I produce. In my first ongoing comic with human characters "Pish Posh" I had a few of my friends say they liked the clothing some of the teens wore in the strips. I even designed purses with my mom one summer before she got really sick. We designed the look together, made them reversible, customizable, useful and fashionable. Mom sewed them and I came up with the graphic designs on the pockets. We made them so you could show off your fun cute personality through the kooky animal on the pocket or you could play it down with either a vertical striped or solid colour interior (normally the colour matched the colour of the animal) and they were great for shopping bags, beach bags, diaper bags, you name it. We sold them at $40 a bag which was pricey to some people, but cheap to us, seeing as they were handmade, and technically 2 bags in one and we needed to cover the work and cost of the materials that went into each one, so technically it was a steal. They all sold, every one of them. When my mom passed on I thought I'd never bring the designs back. But then I found sites like T-shirt Monster and Zazzle and not only did I bring back the purses in a similar design (not quite but it works) but I also put them on shirts as well! They can all be found in the product section of my site if you wanna look at them. I even made Tom Boy Tara wear a Psyko Kat (which is my original design that started it all) shirt in one of my pinups I drew of her. It's fun bringing back old designs and mixing them in with my new art! Hope you all enjoy them!

End of May Update!

2009-05-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know it looks like I haven't done any comics in a while. Not true...well partially true. I'm just working 2 jobs at the moment so I'm sorta doing comics when I can and when I'm not tired, or doing website stuff. I have updated my t-shirt section on my website and even added a couple of new products too to my products section (including a Jack the Ferret doggy sweater for your little pooch) if you care to take a gander at: http://tomboytara.com/products.html it's been fun! I'm also in the process of trying to put together a possible photo shoot that will hopefully be done near the end of June if all goes according to the plan. It consists of a couple of my friends modeling for me as the characters of Tom Boy Tara and I'm hoping to photograph the REAL Jack the Ferret! Yes yes! You will all be able to see him hopefully if this goes well. If not, perhaps I'll take candid photos of him to post eventually. I am also possibly attending the Fan Expo August 28-30 so hopefully I'll see some friendly faces there! :) So even though I haven't written in here for a while, it's cuz I've been busy trying to figure out future comic endeavors. I hope everything goes according to the plan!

TCAF

2009-05-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a few days since I last wrote in here. No I'm not slacking on comics, just haven't had the time to bug my brother to post my newest stuff on my website. I've got quite a few comics that are in dire need of being posted, but alas they will remain in my sketchbook for the time being. I really must learn to post stuff on the website on my own...soon enough. Anyhoo, I attended the TCAF (Toronto Comic Arts Festival) on Sunday May 10th. It was a fabulous day! Lots of amazing art and artists attended the event! It was really a wonderful show, with a mixture of established and not so established Indy artists. I bought a t-shirt from the very nice and extremely talented Michael Cho! I also saw a friend of mine I ended up meeting at The Butler Did It (which is a catering company I work for sporadically and I even did a bimonthly comic 3 times in a row voluntarily in their newsletter) James Turner who has a few cool comics out such as, Nil: A Land Beyond Belief and Rex Libris. It was an amazing day! Many talented artists indeed! Canada definitely has a huge selection of creative minds! I chatted with many cool artists and starred at many of their pieces that looked as though it may have taken hours, weeks or even months to do. After the show the artist friends I hung out with all day became inspired so we all headed toward Curry's art supply store and ended up purchasing art supplies and I got a much needed portfolio that I hope to bring with me to the Fan Expo if we get a table. Anyways, I hope soon enough I will have some more comics posted. Been busy working and makin' money so I can keep affording art supplies to produce the comics, so hopefully those will be seen soon. Workin' on a fun little storyline I hope everyone enjoys! :)

Joe Shuster Awards

2009-05-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm beyond psyched right now! Hafta get my feelings out in blog form! Ha ha! So I was visiting the store Cyber City Comix in TO and the owner Darryl has taken my books to sell in his store. He doesn't often do that because indy books don't sell very well in there. However, being the nice guy that he is he told me he'll enter my book "Why I Hate Cheerleaders" in the 2009 Canadian Joe Shuster awards! Yes yes, you heard right, THE Joe Shuster the Canadian creator behind the oh so popular Superman! I was all, "Come again?" when he told me he was going to do this and I honestly didn't know what to say. It didn't sink in until I had a nap after coming home and I realized how big a deal this really was...I think I was in shock. He's probably entering me in the new category out this year the Gene Day Awards for Canadian Self Publishers. There's a bursary of $500 too for the winner along with a plaque. Now I'm not saying I'll win and lord knows if I'll even be nominated, however the fact that I'm being entered by someone who doesn't normally sell independent comics in their store is still leaving me in a daze. It's an honor and privilege I honestly thought I'd never remotely be a part of, but I'm so glad I have such a wonderful opportunity!

2009-04-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

So I've been trying to apply to actual artistic jobs online and I stumbled across a job at Webkins the stuffed toy made for online and offline play. I went to the website and they're all really cute and cuddly looking. I noticed they didn't have any ferret animals...perhaps it's because some people (especially moms) don't seem to like ferrets, they can be a little smelly...but they have a toy skunk. Perhaps they just never thought of it before or came up with that concept yet. So I thought, what would happen if I turned Jack the Ferret into a stuffed animal? What would he look like? I think he'd look a little something like this:

Pretty cute huh? Maybe he will be a stuffed toy someday. *Sigh*

An A-Sexual Comic

2009-04-23T15:49:00.001-07:00

So I suppose the core reason I probably made Tom Boy Tara is because I never really liked all the girly cartoons and all that stuff as a kid. I think My Little Ponies was cute but found it barf-o-rific when I saw little girls kissing them on the commercials, there was no way I'd be kissing my toys. I didn't see much of a need for playing with dolls as a youth either and changing their diapers, cuz I never really thought I'd have or want kids as I got older...still kinda feel that way too, which is odd. I hated Barbi with a passion and I suppose Deena is partially my inner hatred towards her. Though I don't despise Deena. I think she's essential in my comic, I actually think she's very sweet natured though a tad naive to her surroundings, but it's her obliviousness that makes her work in the comic. I guess it gives Tobey and Tara something to bond over when they're all, "Can you believe her?"

Tobey I think is my inner nerdy self, though he's extremely likable and cool. I had a friend make a passing comment that he's the kind of boy you deep down wish had a secret crush on you, which to me is true. Tobey is more vulnerable than Tara and Tara is the tough-as-nails type of girl that never likes to show a boy she's close to that she likes them. She'd rather go about her day not thinking of the opposite gender and doing her thing and because she's so hellbent on not making romance the main focus of her life (like some girls do) she often doesn't realize the guy she truly likes actually may even like her back. Such a confusing life tomboys lead.

But yes to circle a thought back around from where I originally intended it to go, Tara is the kind of character I always wanted to watch on TV or even read about in comics. She's smart, has a personality, thinks like an individual and doesn't follow a certain way women should be, she does things on her own terms. Doesn't focus on love but sees nothing wrong with dating, she just feels like everything has it's time and purpose when it comes along. She adapts to change very well and is very mature even though sometimes her artistic look may make her appear immature. She has many dimensions to her, not just a pretty face though she is attractive she just knows that there's more to girls than sex appeal. She doesn't try to be manly but just prefers things perceived as manly by society, it's just what she likes and she's not afraid to show what she likes or who she is.

I wanted to make an a-sexual comic, and although I know many people think this is a "girly" comic because the main character is a female, I think it has enough male jokes in it and observations on the two genders to make both sexes enjoy it equally. Just because a girl writes and draws it doesn't mean I don't have outside inspiration that causes me to write and draw the things I do. I think when you are considered a "tomboy" in people's eyes it gives you the perception of two different types of lives. You live the life of a girl and know how they feel because you are one, and understand what they go through. Although you still have a deep understanding of men in the sense that you hung out with a lot as a kid and/or even now and maybe even played sports with them or played in the mud and didn't care about looking pretty all the time. It definitely gives you an interesting perception on life and social scenarios, that's for sure!

2009-04-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I've posted a few pix that were randomly taken of me at the Toronto Comicon I went to on Sunday. A couple are of me holdin' up Neozoic which is a really awesome comic coloured by my good friend Jessie Lam who has a site @ http://axl99.net her stuff is wicked and check out her animation "Last Stop"! She's an amazing animator! I also posted a pic of me talkin' to a cool artist by the name of Attila Adorjany who has a site at www.600poundgorilla.com so go check that out. Anyways, here's me at the con, just a few pix but whatev:

Toronto Comicon-Fan Appreciation

2009-04-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

Well I only unfortunately attended the last day of the Toronto Comicon today and it got a little hectic with people in there at one point. It was fun, I meant to go there and hand out a bunch of fliers but I didn't nearly hand out as many as I should have. I met a lot of cool artists and got a lot of cool free stuff and wicked deals while I was there. Not too shabby. Fun fun. Got a Lionel Hutz action figure for $1. "Who cares?" You say..the selling point is it came with a cute little smoking monkey. Ha ha ha! Too adorable...well, the sad truth is the monkey wasn't really smoking (probably cuz kids may buy the toys and it's kinda promoting cigarettes and such) but it was too cute to pass up none the less. I also got a 25 cent drawing from a little girl selling pictures to pay off a munny doll she bought herself. She actually wasn't selling much stuff surprisingly. I dunno why, it was only a quarter and 'sides gotta support the young artists. Anyways I bought a Pikachu sketch from her. I also got some free sketches too from a few people and bought a t-shirt with the Flash symbol on it for my boyfriend...cuz well...he really wanted one and wouldn't shut up 'bout wanting one every time we watch the Big Bang Theory and Sheldon sports a similar shirt. I also didn't get him much for his b-day that just went by so this was something nice for him. Hell, if he didn't want the shirt I woulda taken it. I was originally trying to buy something for myself but felt a big ol' bunch of selfless comin' on so I went with it. I think over-all the con was pretty fun, can't wait to attend the next one honestly. Hopefully I won't have too long to wait, this is only the beginning of the nice weather, which means more cons are a comin'.

2009-04-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

My Zazzle Pannel

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Check out my gallery at:
http://www.zazzle.com/pishposh555*

2009-04-08T22:54:00.000-07:00

Website Info!

2009-04-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

So it's finally here! I have my webcomic up and running! Yay! No longer a blog comic, but I still will update on here quite frequently...maybe no more art will be posted but you can always check that stuff out at: http://www.tomboytara.com and this blog is still featured there, it's a vicious cycle. Ideas and news about my comic and I'm sure comicon info when my upcoming conventions will be, pix and how it went will be posted, etc. So don't fret, just 'cuz I have a website doesn't mean I'll ditch my blog. It's kept me sane during this whole making a webcomic ordeal, and I'm sure it will remain as my technological therapist.

New Cover Possibility for First 100 Comic Strips!

2009-04-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

So I entered a drawing contest recently on Facebook in the group "Facebook Comic Convention" in which you have to draw a character from The Watchmen. I drew a pin-up of the original Silk Specter and I had so much fun doing it I couldn't stop drawing pin-ups, which gave me a great idea while I was brain-storming art this morning for my comic. I'm going to publish 100 of my first comic strips plus extra art and such and I decided to do a fun pin-up style cover that sorta lets the reader in on what's going on in the strip but not really. The thing I love about it is it totally oozes sex-appeal. I dunno about you but I'd snag it off the shelf to have a good read, but that's my humble opinion...ha!

QUIZ!

2009-04-05T23:32:00.000-07:00

I made up a fun little quiz for my cartoon characters. Check and see which character you are.
Which Tom Boy Tara Character Are You?

2009-04-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

This is a fun piece I wanted to do for a while and ended up playing around with it this morning. Looking down on the cast of Tom Boy Tara with Tobey holding Jack way up high. I like the circle frame, it sorta looks like they're on a record or in a crazy little bubble or something. Perfect picture for a pin!

2009-04-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

Joe Gallagher (my roommate and part owner of the real live Jack the Ferret) asked me to draw this commission of Jack as a slinky going down the stairs inspired by my picture I did for Jessica Carr. He wanted it coloured in too and is buying a frame for the finished product.

2009-04-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

This commission is for Karolina Cwiek who donated a portion to my website fund. She wanted the cast in black and white but I went the extra distance and coloured it in for fun. It's an interesting cast picture. She specified to have her fave character Jack front and center.

2009-04-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

This is a black and white piece I drew specifically for Jessica Carr who donated a large portion to my website fund. Thanks for your support! Jessica's commission and others I do will be featured on the website.

Donations for Tom Boy Tara Website

2009-04-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I don't have a large amount of money at the moment so in order to get my website up and running on the internet I need to spend money to make money unfortunately. So, I came up with a fun little way to make money to get my website out there.

A donation of 5 dollars or more will get you an original hand drawn picture by me for you to put on your wall or do whatever you like with. Not only is this excellent practice for me, but you get an original picture (that may be worth more than $5 some day…who knows) and a scanned copy of your picture will be featured in my portfolio section of my website. So here's the deal:

A donation of $5 will get you a black and white drawing of your favorite character in Tom Boy Tara: Tara, Tobey, Deena, Jade, Eddie, Charlie or Jack.

A donation of $7 will get you 2 characters of your choice in blk and wht.

A donation of $10 will get you the whole cast in blk and wht.

If you want colour of these it may be a couple of dollars more than their original price.

A donation of $15 will get you a caricature of yourself in blk and wht but a picture of yourself must be provided as well.

A donation of $20 will get you a full colour caricature and again you must provide a picture.

If you're ordering a piece online and I need to mail the piece to you I may need a little extra cash before I give you the original piece. Shipping and handling costs. If you want to work out something you can send me your information to emilyrags@hotmail.com and we'll discuss things from there. Please include your full name, phone # and/or e-mail, address (if needed), the amount you wish to donate, and what you would like done for your piece. I'm also creating a part of my site with special thanks to those who have donated. Your name will go there as a tribute to your support. Thanks all who choose to participate!

2009-03-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

No this isn't a real picture...though I wish it was. This is only me dreaming big. Ha ha, my friend introduced me to the site www.faceinhole.com and I've been playing around with it a lot. This was something I thought that would be fun.

2009-03-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

A funny and kinda dirty little t-shirt logo I made for Tobey to eventually wear. LOL!

2009-03-24T06:15:00.001-07:00

This sketch is a lot more grainy and compressed than it's original I drew. This is why I often don't post my sketches, I find everything looks better after I darkened lines with ink. But anyways, here's a pin-up I was sorta playing around with:

2009-03-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

A prophecy of what's yet to come for Tara.

2009-03-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

I used bold primary colours on this stylized version of Tara.

2009-03-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

Manga-style Tom Boy Tara.

2009-03-16T16:15:00.001-07:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #87

2009-03-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #86

2009-03-16T16:12:00.000-07:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #85

2009-03-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #84

2009-03-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

I've been sort of slackin' with the comics lately. Not because I've been busy having a life (although that's partially it too) not because I'm lazy, but mainly because I've been busy working on making a website for these comics. This will actually be a section within my site, along with many other goodies I wish to put up on my website. It's looking sweet so far, can't wait to post here that it's up and running! I want to make this blog an actual blog to put my thoughts up, state what I'm doing in the comic industry such as: cons I will be attending, publications of new books, etc. It's tough work being in the comic industry, what with so many people trying to make it in the business. So many good ideas are out there. The toughest part is finding time to do comics and still live and make money. So many jobs must be juggled, and with the recent lack of money in the economy it's even harder to be in this business. Although I still dream big and hope that one day someone will notice my stuff and see what an interesting idea Tom Boy Tara really is. Who knows, maybe it'll never happen, but all that matters is I have fun making it.

2009-03-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

Random art I did showing Deena's attention-grabbing ways.

2009-03-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #83

2009-03-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #82

2009-03-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Tom Boy Tara Comic #81

2009-03-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

Tom Boy Tara Comic #80

2009-03-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

Tom Boy Tara Comic #79

2009-03-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

I've designed and created some t-shirts for Tom Boy Tara. The following link to browse the shirts is:

http://www.tshirtmonster.ca/Designer/gallery.asp?Designer=pishposh555

I hope you enjoy my designs!

Luv,
Emily Ragozzino
(Tom Boy Tara creator)

2009-02-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara Comic #78

2009-02-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara Comic #77

Creator Side Note

2009-02-25T15:23:00.001-08:00

So yes, I am just going to say I am aware that there has already been a female only fighting videogame created many moons ago. However, I must remind those for some reason that, (in the words of the wise Lisa Simpson) "cartoons don't have to be 100% realistic." as illustrated by her father evidently sitting on the couch and then walking by the window all in the same scene. The fact is, my comic takes place in a land not too unlike our own, but is unlike our own cuz I make up what bands they listen to, what movies they watch, and yes, even the videogames they play. Most of the things in their world don't really exist, on occasion I'll throw in a reference from our world, however not often. The place they live in is made-up, the college they go to, the dorm they stay at, all fictitious. The joys of being a cartoonist and making up a world with just the wave of my magic pencil. I'm like God to them, yes, this is proof God is a female mwahahahahah! Ok, *ahem* I'm done I swear. My head almost floated away from me briefly but I swear I got ahold of it. Anyways, all I'm saying is, it's fun to make up a land that doesn't really exist, I get to make my characters do whatever I want! Ha ha ha!

2009-02-24T18:07:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #76

2009-02-23T17:38:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #75

2009-02-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

Possible t-shirt logo.

2009-02-22T19:01:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara Comic #74

2009-02-21T16:40:00.000-08:00

A possible cover of a comic if I ever publish my stuff.

2009-02-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara Comic #73

2009-02-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

This is the coloured version of my pin-up. I like the contrast of the black and white version but the colours make this piece softer and less harsh.

2009-02-20T00:02:00.000-08:00

A pin-up of Tom Boy Tara I did. I used a reference of Ellen Page from the cover of "Entertainment Magazine" for the piece. I like how the inking turned out.

2009-02-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #72

2009-02-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara comics #71

2009-02-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #70

2009-02-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #69

2009-02-17T20:33:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #68

2009-02-16T19:59:00.001-08:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #67

2009-02-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

Tom Boy Tara comic #66